Nerd Nite Bloomington #2

Doors at 6:30pm | Presentations at 7:00

We all know that learning is more fun when you’re drinking with friends and colleagues. Nerd Nite is an event held in more than 120 cities across the globe during which several folks give 15 minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines – while the audience drinks along. It’s like the Discovery Channel… with beer! Imagine learning about everything from math feuds or the science of the Simpsons, to the genealogy of Godzilla or debunking beer myths, while having a few or a few too many.

Come join us for a drink, learn something new, and meet fellow nerds. Be there AND be square!

This month's speakers and presentation topics:

1) Fire It Up! Using Fire to Demonstrate Sound Waves Inside a Brass Instrument

by Eric Evans

This presentation explores the physics of trumpet acoustics through the Ruben’s Tube fire demonstration—without the risk of actually setting anything on fire. We’ll break down how sound waves create visible patterns, how those waves can be used to calculate pitch, and how a trumpet’s waveform compares to something more familiar, like a vibrating guitar string. If you’ve ever wondered what brass players are actually doing when they buzz into a metal tube, this talk will explain it—math and physics included.

Eric started his career as a professional musician, touring with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and as a founding member of ska-punk upstarts Johnny Socko. These days, he works in IT and AI research while still playing the occasional gig.

2) Weird American Art of the Late 19th Century

by Melody Deusner

For many people, the idea of "art" calls to mind images of priceless masterpieces hanging in museums, breaking records at auction, or adorning the walls (or vaults) of the world's wealthiest people. Although Melody has spent lots of time thinking and teaching about famous artists over her 25 year career, she is much more fascinated by the artists, objects, and incidents that have slipped through the cracks of history. In this presentation, she'll highlight some of the most entertaining case studies she's uncovered while conducting research into various aspects of the late 19th century American art world and explain why they're worth studying.

Melody Deusner is associate professor of American art at Indiana University and specializes in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art. She is the author of Aesthetic Painting in Britain and America (2020) and is currently working on a project about the everyday experiences of living with pictures in the historical United States. Nerd qualifications include an obsession with spreadsheets, databases, and Mystery Science Theater 3000.

3) Seeing Is Believing: Visuality, Monstrosity, and Pregnancy in Horror after Roe v. Wade

by Jennifer Maher

This presentation will examine the history of fetal ultrasound and its ties to female body horror as a film genre. Sometimes called “Gynaehorror,” films as diverse as The Brood (1979), Rosemary’s Baby (1968, 2014) and Prevenge (2017), dramatize the terrifying specter (and contemporary reality) of the feminine body outside of its subject’s control, whether colonized by Satanic forces or Project 2025.

Jennifer Maher is a Clinical Full Professor in the Department of Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she teaches courses on gender and popular culture, feminist theory, and reproductive justice. She has twice been nominated for Pushcart Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and her published academic work focuses on representations of reproductive technology/justice, queer kinship, and parenthood in popular film and television.

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Do you have a nerdy passion? Want to talk about it with a room full of smart drunk people at a future Nerd Nite? Contact us! We’d love to hear from you. Invite your friends and help us spread the word about Nerd Nite Bloomington!

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Bishop Bar, 123 South Walnut Street, Bloomington, United States