Nerd Nite #7

We’re returning to our typical format for Nerd Nite #7. Fun, games, three interesting talks, and of course, beer. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn, you’ll leave. Be there and be square.

When: Thursday, 25 August 2016 (7:30pm for 8pm)
Where: The Union Club (122 Baylis Street, Wagga)
$10 in advance, includes a free drink
$10 at the door (no free drink)
*18+ event, no minors

Tickets available here.


Doing it rite? How religions might make or break the modern world.
Tim Kurylowicz

Climate change, terrorism, overpopulation, greed. The human race has got some serious challenges to overcome, and we’re going to have to work together if we want to beat them. So where do the big religions fit in to all this? Can age-old religions help their followers unite to address big, complex, modern problems? If so, how would that work? …and how might it all go wrong?

Bio: Tim is non-practicing academic who enjoys bringing politics and religion into polite conversations. He researched modern day believers in an effort to understand how religious practices shape the way people interpret their world, and how these ethical frameworks evolve in the face of new challenges.

One years’ seeding makes seven years’ weeding: are weeds Australia’s plant refugees or terrorists?
Deirdre Lemerle 

Weeds are a human construct. Most weeds in Australia were brought here by us as useful plants for a purpose or they were intruded unintentionally. Some of these plants are ‘sleeper’ weeds and do not spread or have much impact. Weeds are very adaptable and evolve to thrive. A trigger such as a change in the environment (e.g. rainfall, temperature) or a management factor (e.g. crop rotation, tillage) can cause some weeds to take-off and have costly impacts on agricultural production and natural environment systems. This talk will discuss where our weeds come from, what impacts they have, and how and why we manage them.

Bio: Deirdre Lemerle is one of several weeds scientists based in Wagga Wagga. She has worked at NSW DPI and CSU since the 1980s on the biology, ecology and control of major agricultural weeds of crops and pastures.Her research aims to develop new management tactics to reduce weed impacts and cost, limit spread, and decrease farmers’ dependence on herbicides.

Of Poets, Pirates & Physicians
John Harper

Victorian poet William Ernest Henley wrote Invictus (Latin for unconquered). I have been thoroughly inspired by this powerful poem — going as far as memorising it. At the heart of this amazing story is the coalescence of art and science.  This presentation will use Invictus to explore the intersections of art, science, and, naturally, pirates.

Bio: John is a singing Scientist who teaches, Botany and Microbiology to first year CSU students and writes poetry, sings and inspires the public and students about science. A member of the Riverina Science Hub, John’s enthusiasm for learning is infectious – just like the microbes he teaches about!

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