We are back for our first live Nerd Nite of 2022! Join us at the Victoria Event Centre for an evening of science, beer, learning, and good times! Tickets are available through the VEC website here. Doors open at 7PM, and our show starts at 8PM. We are committed to providing a safe experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our health and safety measures for the event can be viewed here.

Our talks for the March 21st event are:

“The Lighter Side of Vampirism” -Peter Golz
Dracula in Coppola’s film insists that one has to talk about vampires and their history seriously. But cinematic vampires also often make us laugh. Comedy and horror speak to us in a direct way and often-times go hand in hand. Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, even called them “two-sides of the same coin.”
Bio: Dr. Peter Gölz, UVic’s resident vampire prof, presents a historic overview of vampire humour, from the unintentional in early vampire films to the sophisticated, baroque stage of the genre nowadays. Peter’s talk will show you that vampire comedies don’t have to suck.


“Olfaction in Determining Brain Health” -Jamie Knight
Jamie Knight is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on neuropsychological and olfactory functioning across the lifespan in the context of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. She has been awarded the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Graduate Scholarship, the AGE-WELL Graduate Student Award in Technology and Aging, and the Ferguson Award in Digital Health and Innovation for her research examining olfactory functioning as one of the earliest markers for dementia. As part of her knowledge mobilization plan, she has developed a website, OlfactoryHealth.org, to promote awareness of smell’s relationship to wellbeing and brain health.

And a third talk on the chemistry of beer by Jeremy Wulf!