We’re moving to weeknights and we’ll be back this October with a “Halloween Space Show”,  Star Trek Trivia and prizes for the best costumes!

“SPACE. THE FINAL FRONTIER.” These epic words are the inspiration for the first show of our 2nd season on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at 7pm.

All 3 of our speakers dreamt of being astronauts when they were young so each talk has NASA & CSA connections! We’ll talk about how Star Trek inspired a love for space exploration with an ultimate Trekkie & filmmaker, how extreme underwater environments at Pavillion Lake (right here in beautiful B.C.) mimic Mars, and the gruelling but super cool testing that the Canadian Astronaut Program puts applicants through when they’re looking for the right stuff. Each talk is followed by a question and answer period with the speaker!

***Tickets on www.EventBrite.ca***

Talk #1: “Pavilion Lake, B.C.” / Speaker: Donnie Reid

The presence of strange structures in Pavilion Lake, B.C. (located in Marble Canyon, between Lillooet and Cache Creek) had been known for years by divers and locals, but it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the scientific discovery of Pavilion Lake’s unusual microbialites (carbonate rock structures) occurred.

It was immediately apparent that these structures were a scientific gold mine and that comparisons could be drawn between the lake’s microbialites and fossil microbialites that represent some of the earliest remnants of life on ancient Earth, and were common from ~2.5 billion to 540 million years ago.

The Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) is an international science and exploration effort and is sponsored by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It has become an exciting field site for Earth scientists and astrobiologists who are interested in the application of the PLRP research to the search for life in our solar system and beyond.

Donnie works at Nuytco Research Ltd.  His talk will cover his years as Project Manager for NASA at Pavilion Lake and the cool joint human and robotic underwater efforts to explore and map the lake.

Donnie has been a SCUBA diver for over 26 years, having logged nearly 6,000 dives. Donnie has a degree in Accounting from UBC. He is an expert underwater photographer with credits in NATURE and National Geographic, has worked with the movie industry and ironically, hates getting wet.

Talk #2: “AstroNOT” / Speaker: Dr. Michael Koehle

In June 2016, for only the 4th time in Canadian space history, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) launched a call for potential astronauts. 4,000 applicants answered this call for only 2 spots to join the next class of Canadian space explorers. Of those that applied, Michael Koehle was selected for the 32-person shortlist!

Michael was a great fit; a scientist, a pilot and a doctor studying the impact of stress on human bodies in various environments, who had practiced in many rural and remote areas with limited resources — such as the Arctic, the Himalayas & remote areas of Africa. Michael is intrigued by how the human body adapts to different challenges, such as exercise, altitude, temperature, pollution, and space travel of course. No surprise, The Martian is his fav movie.

Michael’s visual talk focuses on what it takes to make the cut and the extreme testing involved in the selection process to become an Astronaut.

Michael is a Physician-Scientist and Professor, practising Sport and Exercise Medicine at the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Clinic at UBC and Director of the Environmental Physiology Laboratory, UBC. 

Talk #3: “Space, The Final Career” / Speaker: Matthew Cimone

Watching too much Star Trek while growing up, Matthew grew to understand that life was all about exploring the universe and doing good where one could.

Matthew believes that our exploration and understanding of the cosmos reveals the beautiful reality that our planet is not divided by race, colour, or boundary, but is one Earth shared by humanity as it struggles to find its place on our tiny blue marble, adrift in the universe.

Matthew will also share some details on his upcoming documentary about how space captures our childhood imaginations, featuring interviews with Eugene Roddenberry and Star Trek cast members, in a special Nerd Nite Featurette.

A University of Toronto alumnus, Matthew is an H.R. MacMillan Space Centre Interpreter, international development activist and is currently producing another upcoming documentary film “Chasing Atlantis,” which chronicles the last launch of the Atlantis space shuttle. If that wasn’t cool enough, Matthew was recently at SETI (where they look for life in other parts of the universe) to film additional footage. Matthew is also the co-founder/CEO of non-profit organization Esther’s Echo and a former TEDxUTSC speaker.

Be ready for question & answer periods after each talk, Star Trek trivia with prizes and Best Costume prizes! Meet other local nerds & speakers during the breaks.

Location: Eagles Club Event Room

170 West 3rd Street at Chesterfield (just east of 7-11). Fully licensed bar. No minors allowed.

Transit: We’re just 3 blocks from the Seabus at Lonsdale Quay (straight up Chesterfield), so don’t learn and drive.

Social Media:

Website: www.northvan.nerdnite.com

Facebook: Nerd Nite North Vancouver

Instagram: @NerdNiteNorthVan

Twitter: @NerdNiteNV

FAQs

Doors open at 6:30pm. Show at 7:00pm.

You can bring food to this event!

MUST BE 19 YEARS OLD. NO MINORS.