Nerd Night Silicon Valley #1

EXPLOSIVES: WHY THINGS GO BOOM! By Zach Demko

Explosives are the most powerful chemical reactions possible. They are used for destruction and creation, propulsion, intimidation, and art. But what makes a good explosive? In this talk you will learn how terrorists blow up hummers, NASA gets astronauts into space, and the Nazis tried to make invincible flamethrowers–and what happens when the boom goes bust. Wear your nattiest Kevlar suits, everyone!

Zach managed to escape his childhood with all fingers intact and without burning down anything major, at least unintentionally. He got his Ph.D. in chemistry with a Nobel laureate. Over time, his focus has shifted to making drugs–but that's another talk altogether. Now he works at a start-up that helps people make designer babies. Well, not quite. At least, not yet.

IRON CHEF: SATELLITES  By Dan Berkenstock and Julian Mann

Have you ever designed a satellite in a bar? Tonight you will. Think paper mache, crayons, and left-handed safety scissors, it's aerospace arts & crafts night. These guys will pick up where explosion guy leaves off … someone has to design the box that goes into space and does something useful for the other 7 billion people here on Earth. Tonight it's YOU! In this chose- your-own-adventure talk, come prepared with ideas for what you would do with your own, personal, on-demand satellite…

Dan & Julian are engineers with a long history of designing satellites on bar napkins.

PURPOSE - DO SOMETHING THAT MATTERS COSMICALLY! By Juan Batiz – Benet

"What the hell should I do with my life?" In a post-existential world, it is difficult to reconcile aspects of reality - the immensity of the universe, chaos theory, etc - with our actions mattering at all. Or is it? Maybe there is an objective lens to guide the crucial, life-changing decisions. (NOTE: this trip from philosophy to science, through tough questions and perspective-changing discoveries, will go smoothest after a few drinks. WARNING: risk of life crisis, side effects may include science euphoria).

Juan is obsessed with accelerating human progress. He is mapping all human knowledge through Athena, a tech startup out of Stanford and StartX.