On Nov. 21st 1953, the 40-year-long hoax of the Piltdown Man ended when the British Museum revealed that it was a “perfectly executed and carefully prepared fraud.” The Piltdown forgery was essentially a recently deceased humanid head that was deformed by disease, and the lower jaw was replaced with that of an orangatan.

Now on Nov.21st 2018 you may find yourself out somewhere hearing a tale that may be as tall (or as small) as the Piltdown Man. Your initial reaction may be to shout it down, but if there's anything that a good scientficially minded community knows is that the best way to shout down a tall tale, is to find the truth through evidence. Now on this particular day if you come to the Fox Cabaret you are unlikely to hear tales of the Piltdown Man, but you will find like-minded individuals that do share this philosophy of fact based evidence. By gathering together in a casual way over beers, and sharing stories of our passions, it's our celebration of everything we hold dear: science, drinks, and good friends. Welcome to Nerd Nite.

This month's speakers:

1. Erin Marshall "Modelling Tumours"

Bio:

Erin is a PhD student at the BC Cancer Research Centre who spends most of her time studying the genomes of lung tumours and figuring out why they exist in the first place. Though she loves the lab, she also enjoys running, hiking, and teaching kids about genetics. She is also a dedicated helicopter-cat-mom to Oliver.

2. Mary Glasper "Spider butts and spit glands: Adventures in working with Galleria mellonella silk"

Remember those plastic-eating worms in the news last year? I work with those! One summer, while working in an entomology lab, my supervisor asked, “Have you ever looked at Galleria silk? It’s really strong and they produce a TON of it.” Suddenly, a master’s thesis was born, where I investigated the properties of Galleria silk for its use in textiles. Galleria mellonella, a.k.a. the greater wax moth, is a pest of beehives and is also a popular model organism for the study of medically significant mammalian pathogens. In this presentation, I'll show you how to collect, process, and characterize this silk as a textile fibre. Could it be a viable alternative to spider silk? Come and find out! Spoiler: I don’t feed them plastic.

Bio:

Mary Glasper has been a fan of our many-legged friends and of fibres for as long as she can remember, and has professional experience in both Entomology and Textile Science. It’s only natural that she would combine both of her interests by studying how insects create fibres! She has a BSc in Biological Sciences & Human Ecology from the University of Alberta, and recently finished her MSc in Textile Science. Mary moved to Vancouver last winter and is now a Materials Developer at Arc’teryx Equipment.

3. Michael Markowsky "Painting on the Moon"

Back in 2008, Artist Michael Markowsky publicly announced his goal to stand on the surface of the moon and make a painting, by January 1st 2030.

In pursuit of that goal, he travelled to the North Pole in 2013 with the Royal Canadian Air Force and made landscape paintings outside in the -40oC weather, and then in 2014 became the first person to make drawings while flying faster than the speed of sound in a CF-18 "Hornet" jet plane. That project was documented in the 2015 film Markowsky Draws in a Fighter Plane (Directed by Michael Peterson).

Follow his project on Facebook @PaintOnTheMoon

TheFlightHasJustBegun

PaintOnTheMoon

Bio: Michael Markowsky is an award-winning artist and writer who makes drawings, paintings and books about the landscapes and people he meets while travelling around the world. As an official Canadian “War Artist,” he made drawings in an F-18 “Hornet” fighter jet while flying faster than the speed of sound, and was the first person to make a painting while standing at the North Pole.

Poster by: Armin Mortazavi

IG: armin.scientoonist

https://www.facebook.com/events/277940456184821/

Grab a friend and join us for Cosmic Nights: Ice Worlds. We will be exploring whether life can exist on the icy planets in our solar system and beyond. Learn more about current missions and hot topics in astronomy and space exploration in this fun evening of science and socializing. We’ll have a custom planetarium show, guest lecturer, music, drinks, science demonstrations and games at this 19+ event.

6:30pm - 10:00pm – Drinks | Music| Games | Demonstrations I Lecture I Planetarium Show

7:30 or 9:00pm - Planetarium Star Theatre show – “Exploring Ice Worlds” With the recent discovery of a sub glacial lake in Mars’ South Pole, we are now more optimistic than ever that there may be other life in our solar system, and it may be found on an ice world. Our Planetarium Star Theatre show “Exploring Ice Worlds” will take a closer look at ice worlds like Europa, Enceladus, and even Titan in a very unique interactive visual presentation. We will also be discussing NASA’s InSight mission to Mars. This robotic explorer will gather data on Mars’ crust, mantle and core to give us a better understanding of the planet’s interior structure and formation.
*Choose between either the 7:30pm or 9:00pm planetarium show when purchasing your ticket.

8:00pm and 9:00pm - Lecture by Dr. Mark Jellinek UBC’s Dr. Mark Jellinek of the Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences department will be lecturing on “Snowball Earth and Cryovolcanoes”.

Dr. Mark Jellinek’s research interests are varied and include classes of problems emerging in geodynamics, planetary science, volcanology and geological fluid mechanics. His work typically involves experimental, theoretical and computational fluid dynamics as well as field and laboratory-based observational studies. Currently, he is particularly interested in constructing knowledge about how mantle convection leads to volcanism, and about how observations of volcanic processes or their outcomes can be applied to constrain the dynamics and thermal evolution of planetary interiors.

7:00pm-9:00pm – GroundStation Canada Theatre - “Comet Cooking Show” Join us in the GroundStation Canada theatre for our version of a cooking show. We will use all the ingredients needed to make a comet, including dry ice. We’ll also do some ice world trivia and have prizes for the winners!

TICKETS: $20 early bird tickets until November 15th, $25 after.

Tickets available online through Eventbrite until 12:00pm on November 29th.

Beer from Red Truck Beer Company, wine from Hester Creek Estate Winery will be available for purchase. Games by Starlit Citadel.

This is a 19+ event. All attendees will be required to provide photo ID upon entry.

Doors open at 6:00pm.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1938102336245258/