Nerd Nite Hong Kong is back in May, with a lineup of fantastic speakers talking about all kinds of nerdy goodness! (Do take note of the change of location!)

Event: Nerd Nite Hong Kong: Edition #2
Date: 22nd May 2017
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Mezcalito; 27/F, 18 On Lan St, Central.
Entry Fee: Free! Thanks to the support provided by the venue! You just got to buy your own drinks!

Speaker 1: Prof. Stephen Palmquist [Rescheduled From 24th April]
Topic: What is Philosophy? And why must we all disagree
Quick Nerdisms: I argue that the most comprehensive way of defining philosophy is to regard it as the self-defining discipline. This definition holds in at least four senses. First, any attempt to define a discipline is by its very nature philosophical. Second, philosophy is therefore the only discipline for which the task of self-definition lies within the discipline itself. Third, the task of defining oneself, nowadays often thought of as related more to psychology than to philosophy, is also essentially philosophical, with psychology serving as a crucial but subservient light to guide the path. Fourth, recognizing the status of philosophy as essentially self-defining enables us to embrace the fact that there are as many different “definitions” of philosophy as there are philosophers; yet paradoxically, we can still regard philosophy as one and the same task throughout all these differences. I conclude with a summary of my own unique approach to defining philosophy, which divides philosophy into four distinct, one-word areas, with the purpose of each area being expressed as a two-word goal. This results in a surprisingly simple, twelve-word map of the philosophical path.
Nerd Cred: Stephen Palmquist (D.Phil., Oxford) is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University, where he has taught since 1987. His 175+ publications (translated into 12 languages) include 11 books and 90+ refereed articles/chapters. In 1999 he founded the Hong Kong Philosophy Café, whose branches have over 900 members.

Speaker 2: Prof. Danny Chan
Topic: House of Stem Cells, Power and Immortality
Quick Nerdisms: People behave differently in different environment.  You learn different things in different environment, and you can become a different person in a different environment. What if you are a cell or a stem cell? The environment, the house of a cell can transform the entire neighborhood, powers the power a cell in organisms that possess “immortality”.  What can we learn from such organisms?
Nerd Cred: Danny Chan is a professor at the School of Biomedical Science in the University of Hong Kong, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine. He graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Science (Hons), Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.
His research interest is in skeletal biology, focusing on development, growth and degenerative processes of the skeleton in health and disease. He has a particular interest in rare diseases of the skeleton. He has received more than 25M HKD of research funding as principal investigator and 200M HKD as Co-investigator, and with more than 150 publications in high impact journals such as Nature, JCI, AMHG, PNAS, PLOS Biol, EMBO and JCB.
In recognition of his achievements, he received an award for excellence in medical research from the Premier of Victoria in Australia, and recently, the Croucher Senior Research Fellow Award in Hong Kong, and the SY and HY Cheng Endowed Professor in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. In knowledge exchange, he and his research team helped to initiate “The Little People of Hong Kong” Foundation in Hong Kong, an NGO for the patient groups, and to increase the community’s awareness of the needs of patients with rare skeletal disorders in Hong Kong. He is also a council member of Hong Kong Alliance for Rare Diseases, advocating for the needs of rare disease people in our society.
Professor Chan is the Assistant Dean for Research and Research Postgraduate studies, as well as the Deputy Director for Development and Education for Research Integrity at the University of Hong Kong. He is involved in the education of responsible conduct of research to students and academic staff, and has a strong interest in promoting an environment for high quality research at the university, and sharing experience through networking with regional and international institutions to foster responsible conduct of research.

Speaker 3: Ms. Lily Chan
Topic: Science and Health Education of Aromatherapy
Quick Nerdisms: Many people think that aromatherapy is some sort of scam business, this image has been particularly brought out by multilevel marketing companies. The fact is, aromatherapy is more on health and science than it is commercial. In my sharing, I will discuss the history of aromatherapy, misconceptions, role of aromatherapy in primary health care and clinical settings, and science of aromatherapy with examples. It is my hope that I can bring out some inspirations to all of you and let you understand aromatherapy in a scientific way.
Nerd Cred: Lily Chan is a registered nurse, an International Federation of Aromatherapists certified aromatherapist and a master student currently studying part-time Master of Medical Science at the HKU. She previously graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and JGO Holistic Aromatherapy and Health School. Knowing that most of the public focus only on the scent and functions of essential oils, and disregard the mechanisms and potential hazards of essential oils, she started to develop her knowledge by reading more literature and delivering correct health knowledge to the layman. Although she aims to develop her career and educate the public, the truth is that she can’t live without reading journal articles (her favorite hobby)!!

*Note: the following talk will be rescheduled*
Speaker: Mr. Tom Champion
Topic: Hold my beer: A little taste of brewing science
Quick Nerdisms: Beer, glorious beer. Come grab a pint of liquid gold and hear about why beer has bubbles, how many buckets a brewer scrubs per annum, and everything in between. Wine drinkers welcome – albeit begrudgingly…
Nerd Cred: Tom Champion is Head Brewer at the Little Creatures Brewpub in Kennedy Town. He graduated in Chemical Engineering in his hometown of Perth in Australia, got bored of digging up rocks, and decided brewing beer might be more rewarding. Having worked with Little Creatures for the last 8 years at their three breweries, his passion for great beer has grown exponentially. Tom is now the Vice-President of the Craft Beer Association Hong Kong, and is eager to be a valuable contributor to the growing craft beer scene in Hong Kong.