Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 4 February at A Rolling Stone.
4 February Speakers
“‘Bad guys doing good’ – A Stormtrooper Story”
by Centuri Chan
Founded in 1997, the 501st Legion is a worldwide Star Wars costuming organisation. These dedicated fans celebrate their love of the films by proudly wearing the costumes of villains from the Star Wars Universe. Their official motto: ‘Bad guys doing good’ is a reference to the groups’ strong commitment to fundraising, charity work, and volunteering. Let Centuri take you on an adventure as he shares his experiences as a member of the 501st.
Centuri Chan is an 80’s geek who is passionate about creativity and community. He is a stuck up, half witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder, and has the death sentence in twelve systems. His three favourite Star Wars characters are Admiral Ackbar, Max Rebo and R5-D4.
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“Being a ‘keeper of hope'”
by Ginny Rhodes
Ginny will talk about the tough stuff no one really wants to know or see impacting women in need in our community. She will share what happens when other women care and step up to give their own precious time to build confidence and self esteem. She will also give some snippets from her work behind the wire at a women’s prison.
Ginny is the Executive Manager of Dress for Success Christchurch a not for profit organisation working to support and empower women. She has been in this role for 10 years as well as a background in the social services sector, and has always been a feisty advocate for women’s rights and equality.
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“The Hidden Life of Medical Implants”
by Kaleb McGillivray-Seaton
The integration between humans and technology is already underway. We can see in in the medical industry with the ever-improving prosthetic limbs being developed, however there is a world of equally wonderful devices that is hidden within the body. Kaleb will take you on a journey to learn about the methods being developed to power and communicate with these hidden devices.
Kaleb is currently at the University of Canterbury completing the final year for his Mechanical Engineering PhD on how to improve ultrasound communication with medical implants. He has published work in international journals with his most recent paper being about the behaviour of ultrasound communication when implants are in non-idealised positions.
Before we take off for summer holiday…
Come explore the Christchurch CBD through the eyes of a structural engineer with Nerd Boss Nicole O’Hearne as your guide.
Whether you’re an engineering enthusiast, a curious Cantabrian, or just someone who loves a good fun fact while strolling, this tour will increase your appreciation of the buildings that make up this wonderful city.
📍 Two Dates Available
- Sunday, 30 November from 2:30pm
- Saturday, 6 December from 10:00am
🚶♀️ What to Expect
- A relaxed walking loop around the central city
- Standing and walking for around 2 hours. Please wear comfy shoes!
- Lots of nerdy insight, Q&A, and moments of “Huh! I never noticed that!”
Come learn, chat, and see Christchurch in a whole new way.
Let’s get nerdy about the city we live in!
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Our regular Nerd Nites will be back on the First Wednesday of every month
Starting on 4 February 2026!
The last Nerd Nite Christchurch of 2025 will be 5 November at A Rolling Stone.
We’ll be back at it on the First Wednesday of every month, starting on 4 February 2026!
5 November Speakers
“Jingle Cells: Why Santa might deserve a night in the slammer”
by Tom Mohammed
We are all familiar with Santa Claus – the fellow in the red suit that visits New Zealand each Christmas Eve to spread gifts and joy. But does he deserve the positive reputation that has been attributed to him? In this presentation, Tom Mohammed will talk you through Santa’s long annual naughty list of regulatory breaches and criminal offences that he has gotten away with for far too long.
Tom Mohammed is a lawyer at Duncan Cotterill who specialises in regulatory law. He frequently advises clients in both the private and public sectors on how to operate within New Zealand’s regulatory landscape – but has yet to receive any instructions from the North Pole.
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“Can Scammers Write Poetry?”
by Stephen Fitchett
UN Secretary General António Guterres, FBI Director Kash Patel, Warren Buffett; Stephen has exchanged emails with some big names – or, at least, people who claim to be them. After months of replying to every scam email in his junk folder, he now has answers to all the questions you never had about email scammers, and perhaps even some you did. In this talk, he unmasks this clandestine world and all the unexpected twists and turns of his investigations.
Stephen is a software engineer who enjoys finding creative uses of technology to improve the world. He has a PhD in Human Computer Interaction from the University of Canterbury.
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“War of the worlds – when two species collide. What happens when we get unwanted biological species in our native forests.”
by Amanda Black
Our native species and their ecosystems are unique and have been evolving isolated from the rest of the world for millions of years. What happens when two different species meet? I’ll discuss a biosecurity tale of kauri trees and a microscopic organism known as Phytophthora agathidicida and what can be learned.
Professor Amanda Black is a renowned expert in the field of environmental science with a focus on landscape resilience. With over 15 years of research experience, she has published numerous articles on forest health, soil biology, biosecurity and how we can work alongside Indigenous knowledge holders. Amanda is passionate about engaging and linking research with communities. Her upcoming talk at Nerd Nite Christchurch will introduce the impacts of unwanted species in our environments. When she’s not working, Amanda enjoys travelling and hanging out with her family.
What happens when comedians go full nerd? Find out on October 15th at A Rolling Stone.
Nerd Nite x PHUCK Entertainment brings you five stand-up comics giving rapid-fire nerdy talks, plus Snap as MC. Shorter sets, bigger laughs, pure nerdy fun.
Speakers
“Bonnie, Clyde and …Shakespeare?! History’s most underrated thief”
by Georgie Lush
What do Frank William Abagnale Jr., Dick Turpin and William Shakesoeare have in common? They are all con-men! Join comedian Georgie Lush as we investigate the many crimes committed by the bard himself.
Georgie Lush is a comedian, drag king, director, producer and as you may have guessed, a person with ADHD. Award-winning and critically acclaimed, her comedy has taken her many places, most notably, a garage in Palmerston North one time. She is thrilled to be joining Nerd Nite, and hopes you will be as interested in ruining Shakespeare’s reputation as she is.
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“Nazi Meth Adventures”
by Eve Wingerath
Eve condones neither Nazis nor meth. She just likes weird things that changed the course of history and she can’t wait to tell you all about tweaking soldiers. Hitler’s scooby snax and a notorious incedent with Mussolini.
As a comedian, improviser and spinster, Eve is what’s known in showbiz as a triple threat. Though new to the comedy scene (at least two years ago when she wrote this bio), she’s quite funny and people often laugh at her jokes. Her award-winning debut show, Eve Ruined Everything, is not as bad as it sounds. She needs to write an updated biography.
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“When neurological conditions go right”
by Miriam Collins
Miriam will discuss real life examples of brain diseases and injuries that could be construed as life-enhancing, and how these unusual cases can teach us what various regions of the brain are responsible for.
Miriam is a boganesque woman with a MSc in Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience. Her fashion inspirations include Ms. Frizzle, Lady Gremlin, and the nanny named Fran. She has a dark sense of humour and isn’t afraid to get real weird with it. Animals love her, children want to be her some day. Her breasts (Titiana and Titrice) have engaged in numerous charitable causes over the years. Their CV is available upon request.
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“Yes, And This Is What I Know About Improv”
by Jarrod Cook
This is an introduction to all things improv presented by an enthusiast! Join Jarrod as he delves into the ask-fors, formats and scene-sational details of your favourite unscripted art form. And remember, he’s definitely not just making this up.
Jarrod is an emerging comedian and improviser based in Otautahi, who loves using a mixture of observational, nonsensical, surreal, and sometimes blue (*gasps*) comedy to entertain the people who aren’t holding the microphone. He was educated as an engineer, but he doesn’t really do clever stuff anymore, unless you think taking bold and exciting risks in comedy is clever. Fans know him as an upbeat guy with great deadpan delivery skills and a taste for silliness.
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“The Fry’s the Limit: A Nerdy History of Fried Chicken”
by Nicole O’Hearne
What do Scots, West Africans, Koreans, and Kiwis all have in common? A deep love of fried chicken. Join Nerd Boss Nicole for a crunchy, nerdy, and slightly greasy dive into the history of fried chicken from Scotland and West Africa to… well, pretty much the whole world. Then we’ll tackle New Zealand’s culturally questionable obsession with putting fried chicken on every menu. Come hungry for facts, flavour, and a few laughs.
Christchurch’s resident Nerd Boss, Nicole is a nerd of many things… just not the things that make her good at pub quizzes. Nicole has worn many hats: engineer, winemaker, and now community activator. Nicole is delighted to have this opportunity to rant about kiwis’ obsession with fried chicken.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
🚨Mark your calendars🚨
We have a special one-off event on 15 October – PHUCK n’ Nerds – a comedy Nerd Nite.
Next event is 1 October at A Rolling Stone.
1 October Speakers
“Dark Ice – how glaciers are saving themselves”
by Heather Purdie
Glaciers have come to realise that if they wait for people to fix climate change – they are doomed. Come along and learn how glaciers are adapting to the heat and slowing down their own demise.
Heather is an Associate Professor and glaciologist in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Canterbury. Heather loves wandering around the mountains and investigating how glaciers are responding to climate change.
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“Spider Cognition: Unraveling secrets of miniature brains“
by Fiona Cross
Meet Dr. Fiona Cross (AKA Dr Spider) and her eight-legged friends as they celebrate Arachtober, a special month for spiders and their fans. Fiona works with spiders that have brains which would comfortably fit on pinheads, but these spiders can make plans, solve tasks, and even pay attention to number.
Fiona is based in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury, where she investigates what spiders can do with their tiny brains. Some of these discoveries are enough to keep a person awake at night!
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“What’s wrong with Spider-Man? The marvels of spider biology”
by Cor Vink
As Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Unfortunately, there seems to have been no biological responsibility when coming up with Spider-Man’s superpowers. The actual biology and superpowers of spiders are even more amazing that the famous superhero.
Cor is a Associate Professor in the Department of Pest-Managment and Conservation at Lincoln University. He is six and a half years younger than Spider-Man and has been studying spiders for over 25 years.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 3 September at A Rolling Stone.
3 September Speakers
“Incarceration and its discontents; how many people do we need in prison?”
by James Mehigan
James will discuss the crisis of mass incarceration in NZ prisons and ask if another Aotearoa is possible.
James is Associate Professor of Law at UC and a barrister at Garden Court Chambers in England. He is interested in the injustices of the criminal justice system and how powerful people and organisations can be held accountable for the harms they cause.
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“Swim Training Patterns”
by Dr. Christoph Bartneck
Swim training, like many other physical exercises, uses instructions to tell athletes what to do. In the case of swimming, variations are important since staring at tiles hardly keeps the swimmer mentally fit. Surprisingly, training instructions are a programming language, similar to what we use to control computers. This talk will dive into how natural, artificial and formal languages are used to communicate ideas and patterns. Find out what the ideal way to stack squares is, how to build a pyramid and how you can calculate what the most repetitive pop song is. Even better, you will find out how you can use these patterns to improve your training routine using numbers!
Dr. Christoph Bartneck is a professor of computer science and a competitive swimmer with several national records. He actively promotes Masters Para Swimming in his role as a para swimming coordinator. He is an experienced science communicator with an interest in the intersection of mathematics, engineering and psychology. He frequently gives public talks and lectures at the local, national and international levels. Dr. Bartneck is an accomplished author with hundreds of scientific articles and books to his name. His work has been featured in the New Scientist, Scientific American, Popular Science, Wired, New York Times, The Times, BBC, Huffington Post, Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Economist.
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“What is a calculator?“
by Rata Ingram
You might know a calculator as that thing you reach for to perform a mathematical calculation, but they’re not just your trusty Casio FX-82s and TI-84-plusses, or that app on your smartphone. Rata will wind back the crank to take you on a potted history of computing devices, from abacuses to adding machines, Napier’s bones to nomograms, Consul the educated monkey to Curt’s mechanical marvel, as she develops somewhat of a taxonomy of calculation instruments in true show-and-tell style.
Rata Ingram is all about maths. She is co-founder and chair of the charity Mathateca: New Zealand’s Public Space for Mathematics (mathateca.nz) and runs recreational maths meetups for adults (Christchurch MathsJam, Oceania MathsJam Gathering). When she’s not solving maths puzzles, she’s creating them, promoting STEM in her role at Christchurch City Libraries. With a lifelong interest in how things work, she also deals with technological history at Ferrymead Heritage Park, from driving trams to restoring telephony equipment. Rata has been collecting calculators since she was in high school. She now has more than she can count.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 6 August at A Rolling Stone.
6 August Speakers
“From the Twilight Zone to Lyttelton Harbour: Marine Life on the Frontlines of Climate Change“
by Dr Joyce Yager
Marine animals are not just passive victims of climate change—they also play an active role in cleaning up our mess and sequestering carbon dioxide. Joyce will talk about how fish that live in the ocean twilight zone help remove carbon from the atmosphere and discuss fishing for them could mean for the carbon cycle. She’ll then seamlessly transition to part two: about Whakaraupō Lyttleton harbour’s tiny marine animals and how our actions on land impact them.
Joyce studied marine science, biology, and geology as an undergrad and got majorly bummed out about climate change. She did a PhD on climate change 200 million years ago—back when it wasn’t her fault. A few years and deep breaths later and she is back to working on the modern ocean, looking specifically at how marine life impacts ocean chemistry and vice versa. Joyce thinks there are plenty of people outside of formal science careers who want to do science and runs a project in Whakaraupō aimed at facilitating marine science participation for all.
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“Olympians: Using humanity to solve the AI control problem”
by Dan McKay
Dan explains the dangers of artificial superintelligence, why it might be safer to use a person as the foundation for a superintelligence, and what kind of person we’d want to pick.
Dan is a philosopher working at Canterbury University specializing in ethics, and he’s pretty keen for humanity not to be wiped out by an artificial superintelligence.
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“How to Build Dangerous Things”
by Dr Angus McGregor
Earthquakes are, quite fairly, seen as disastrous events — usually because they induce resonant vibrations in buildings, causing them to react violently and become damaged. But without resonance, we wouldn’t have swing bridges, building-shaking bass… or Ig Nobel Prize-worthy ideas like sending spaceships to the moon with nukes. In this talk, McGregor will explain the importance of resonance in some designs, how to optimise designs for maximum shaking, and how to avoid destroying your beautiful, jiggly creations.
Angus McGregor is a mechanical engineer and expert in composite design and vibrations. His career has led him to build large-scale resonating artworks with the Len Lye Foundation, lecturing at Ara and the University of Canterbury, and promoting gender balance in the sciences through initiatives like WiECAN. He now works with Caliber Design in Christchurch, providing additional engineering resourcing on-demand.
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PLUS Special Guest
Jor Dansaren who is a mutli-discipline artist based in Ōtautahi. Her artistic endeavours include spoken word, burlesque, fire performance, and running her own monthly poetry event, 6pm Speakeasy. Heavily influenced by the delights of the natural world, Old Norse skaldic storytelling, and spiritual process, Jor finds wonder in life and the broad spectrum of human experience. She brings a Lord of the Rings themed spoken word set to Nerd Nite, for all those preciouuussss fantasy buffs.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 2 July at A Rolling Stone.
2 July Speakers
“The Science of Getting High”
by Dr Jonathan Falconer
Humans have been doing drugs for many thousands of years, and these days even highly successful (not to conflate that with good or moral) people like Elon Musk are doing them. Jonathan will talk about some commonly used and abused drugs and what pharmacological characteristics make it likely for a drug to be harmful. He’ll also be funny.
Dr. Jonathan Falconer is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Otago and lectures on neuropharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and toxicology. He’s also an award-winning stand-up comedian who has performed around the world.
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“All that glitters is litter: the not-so glamourous life of a microplastics researcher”
by Dr Helena Ruffell
The micro-problem that everyone is talking about – they’re in the oceans, Antarctica, inside of us – its microplastics! And we’re contributing to the problem! Who me? I’m not literally tipping glitter and microbeads into the ocean……but oh, in a way, we are. Join Dr Helena Ruffell as she relays her greatest quest yet – searching through your literal sewage to find the glittering jewels produced by oil (and those ‘but I’M MADE FROM PLANTS NOT OIL’ greenwashing tactics too!).
Dr Helena Ruffell emerged from the dark room of the microscope suite and found the light at the end of the tunnel and completed her PhD in Environmental Science at the University of Canterbury last year. A lover of all kinds of wastes, microplastics and biowastes have captured her heart, because she couldn’t find a normal glamourous topic to obsess over.
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“No, ballet dancers are not human!”
by Georgina Barr BA, Diploma Journ, BHSc Podiatry
Join Dance Health Consultant Georgina Barr as she guides you on a bendy adventure into the extremely elastic world of dance. If you thought that dancers were superhuman super athletes – you’d be right!
Georgina works in dance medicine locally, nationally and internationally. She is the only ever recipient of the Juon Pointe Gold Standard award for her original qualitative research on custom pointe shoe fitting and the relationship to lower limb malalignment and injury.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 4 June at A Rolling Stone.
4 June Speakers
“Cyanobacteria: Your Toxic (Algae) Ex”
by Stephanie Koviessen
Everyone’s had a toxic ex—but cyanobacteria might just take the crown. They show up uninvited, take over your favorite swimming spot, and leave behind a nasty toxin-laced mess. But like any ex, there’s more to the story. This session spills the tea on cyanobacteria’s ancient legacy, their role in ecosystems, and why they’re acting out in modern environments.
Stephanie recently emerged from the depths of a Master’s degree in Water Resource Management, fueled by coffee, curiosity, and a deep love for all things water quality. Her thesis took a deep dive into the world of cyanobacteria living in urban stormwater ponds—because what’s more fun than studying microscopic troublemakers? With a background in water quality and a tendency to get a little too excited about algae, she is passionate about making science accessible and keeping our waterways clean and healthy.
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“Christchurch’s 19th Century Scandals”
by Lydia Mearns
When researching places and people in Christchurch during the 19th century it doesn’t take long before you come across some pretty outlandish and sometimes even scandalous stories. While these tales don’t always make it into the history books, it’s about time someone told them.
Lydia graduated from Canterbury University with a bachelor’s degree with Honours in History in 2015. For the past decade she has been researching and writing the history of archaeological and heritage sites around New Zealand.
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“What if Maths Just Ghosted Us?”
by Clemency Montelle, PhD
What would life actually look like without maths? Can we imagine a world without numbers? From ancient tally sticks to TikTok algorithms, maths has shaped the rise of civilisation underpinning absolutely everything we do. This talk takes a lighthearted journey through history to explore just how lost we’d be if maths stopped answering our messages.
Professor Clemency Montelle is the Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics in the University of Canterbury’s Faculty of Engineering. Crazy about mathematics and hooked on ancient languages, researching the history of mathematics was the perfect way to combine her two passions. Professor Montelle graduated from the History of Mathematics department, Brown University, USA, as a Fulbright scholar. She firmly believes Sanskrit grammar is just another kind of algorithm, and that ancient astronomers were the original data nerds. When not buried in dusty manuscripts, she’s likely plotting her next research trip to some impossible-to-access museum collection or testing the structural integrity of her office with too many books.
Join us on the first Wednesday of every month!
Next event is 7 May at A Rolling Stone.
7 May Speakers
“Formula One’s Greatest Holes”
by Snap
The world of F1 is too vast and exciting to cover in one talk, so I will be narrowing in on one of Snap’s favourite aspects of the greatest sport on earth: holes. Although famous for high speed adrenaline inducing action any true fan knows the beauty of F1 lies in it’s unexpected oddities and technical weirdness. In this sure to be critically acclaimed talk, Snap will introduce you to just some of the greatest holes in Formula One. A journey starting with unintentional holes, transitioning to the intended holes, before concluding with the always elusive loop holes. You have a hole in your Formula One knowledge, Snap will fill it.
Snap is an award-winning comic and one of the most prolific performers in Aotearoa. A four-time winner of Best MC in Christchurch despite dropping out of high school, Snap is a much better comic than his teachers or parents ever predicted. Early reviews of his life choices included things like “You could work in a box factory”, and, “Yeah I guess a two-cent raise is easier than replacing you”. But look at him now… he’s a pretty good comedian, as you can tell from this out-of-context quote from an average review, “Clearly a talented comic” – Theatreview. And his jokes have been shown to be pretty good too, “Leaves us roaring with laughter” – ArtMurmurs. Here’s something another pretty good comedian had to say about him, “Snap is unique piece of work. He is a very funny man with a very silly name. 10/10 would Snap again.” – Jordan Raskopoulos, The Axis of Awesome.
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“Just a bunch of old rubbish? Archaeology in Christchurch!”
by Alana Kelly
Did you know that anything pre-1900 is legally archaeological in New Zealand? Buildings, Pā sites, shipwrecks, pits, artefacts, bridges, railways, midden, hangi pits, mines, mills, infrastructure, literally anything and everything. What may look like a bunch of old rubbish is actually an amazing dataset that can provide insight into the lives of people from the past! If you like all things old come along to hear about the everyday life of an archaeologist in Christchurch.
Alana Kelly is your friendly neighbourhood archaeologist based in Christchurch. When not in a hole in the ground, chasing a digger, or roaming the hills, she spends most her time in the city investigating and excavating archaeological sites. She has worked all over New Zealand, and has a Master’s degree in Archaeology from Otago University.
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“D’oh! A Taxonomy of Human Error”
by David Roche
Everybody makes mistakes. Is it bad luck, fate, stupidity, stubbornness and smart-arse-ery, or simply poor design? How can we use that knowledge to avoid making teh same mistake twice?
David Roche is a pathologist (no, it is not like you see on CSI). He spends his time looking down microscopes, making diagnoses and avoiding error.