NERD NITE

NERD NITE By Kristy Locklin

PEOPLE ARE GEEKING OUT OVER NERD NITE.

The boozy lecture series made its Pittsburgh debut April 4 at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville. Founded in Boston in 2003, it now has more than 100 chapters worldwide.

The premise is simple (even for non-nerds): Three speakers each get 15 minutes to wax philosophical on a subject while audience members imbibe. Topics range from science and technology to animals and pop culture. There are question-and-answer sessions after each presentation followed by breaks for music and mingling.

Because nerds are typically shy loners, attendees sit facing each other at long tables to stimulate human interaction. Organizers provide a dose of liquid courage by giving free drink tickets to guests who talk to a stranger and discover a mutual interest.

At Nerd Nite, alcohol and conversation flow like the Three Rivers. It’s a raucous, yet intellectual, evening. Meghan Simek was a regular at Nerd Nites in Washington, D.C., and Rorry Brenner fell in love with the concept while studying neuroscience in Southern California.

Both eventually moved to Pittsburgh and contacted Nerd Nite HQ the same week to inquire about starting a local branch. The powers-that-be connected them and they started planning in December.

They figured they’d sell about 40 tickets to the first event; 200 nerds showed up.

The inaugural affair featured light-hearted, yet informative, talks by Julian Whitman, a robotics doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University; Luis Von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo; and Nicolette W.M. Wong, a mafia expert working on her Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Co-boss Rorry Brenner introduces Pittsburgh to Nerd Nite.

Julian Whitman, a robotics doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University, fields questions from the audience.

The audience soaked up knowledge (about robots, languages and organized crime) as well as beer.

Renee Mannion, recently moved to the Steel City from Youngstown, Ohio. She bought a $5 ticket to Nerd Nite to drink with fellow brainiacs.

“It seemed like something different to do,” she said. “It’s nice to have something that combines the intellectual side with the fun side.”

Spirit will host Nerd Nites once a month. The next date hasn’t been announced yet, but keep an eye on the Facebook page for details.

Speakers shouldn’t take themselves or the material too seriously and their spiel must be educational and entertaining. Think less Ben Stein and more Bill Nye. Potential presenters can send a brief and funny title, teaser summary and bio to the Nerd Nite co-bosses four weeks before the scheduled event.

Thanks to all of Pittsburgh’s tech companies, hospitals and universities, nerds are coming out of the woodwork and the co-bosses are excited to learn from them.

“I like learning,” Simek said. “I like seeing what people are passionate about.”