Nerd Nite Saskatoon

The Water Within: A journey of Growth and Security – Palash Sanyal

What is it about: 
The Water Within: A Journey of Growth and Security is all about how working in the water sector has shaped Palash’s life, both personally and professionally. He’ll share stories from his experiences that have deepened his understanding of adaptability, sustainability, and connection. From confronting climate change denial to tackling water scarcity, you’ll hear how water has both divided and united us. Palash will share how the qualities of water—its ability to flow, adapt, and sustain life—have influenced his approach to leadership, relationships, and lifelong learning, helping him to focus on becoming the best version of himself. He’ll also explore why water is so crucial, the challenges we face, and how we can create meaningful change in our approach to water security

Palash’s multidisciplinary approach is evident in his founding of Governing Water Inc., where he combines his extensive expertise in governance, sustainability, and water security. His credentials, including PMP, GCB.D, MEng, MSc, Certified Emotional Intelligence Coach (and a Realtor license, among others), reflect his commitment to continuous learning and his belief in the importance of understanding the many facets of any challenge. Beyond his professional endeavours, Palash serves on several boards (Trans Canada Trail, Royal College International, Sandbox Mutual Insurance), where he brings a unique blend of strategic insight, relationship-building, and a deep commitment to sustainability.

Shocking and Brainless ways to Move. -Dr Jonathan Norton

When we are too busy to know what to do we describe ourselves as ‘running around like a headless chicken’. How realistic is that metaphor? Do headless chickens really run around? Shockingly the answer is yes they do..(with some caveats). A long dead Physiology professor is renowned for keeping headless rats in a desk drawer (long before animal rights were considered). These rats ran around the drawer and were kept for many months. How does this happen?

The key to both the rat and the chicken story is twofold, with the brainstem being responsible for most of the neural functions required to keep us alive (breathing, circulation etc.) and the brainstem and spinal cord together containing much of the neural circuitry controlling movement. Yet, when an individual suffers a spinal cord injury the factor that strikes most people is that they cannot move on their own.

In this talk we will examine some of the advances being made in understanding how the spinal cord controls movement at a basic level, and how we can use electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to restore some movements for those with a spinal cord injury.

Jonathan Norton received degrees in Physiology, Engineering and Neuroscience from University College London in the UK before undertaking fellowships in Edmonton, AB. He has been in Saskatoon since 2013 as a faculty member at the University of Saskatchewan and Clinical Scientist at the Saskatchewan Health Authority. He has research interests in reducing neurological injuries and the use of electrical stimulation to restore neurological functions and alleviate suffering. He has a particular interest in how the nervous system interacts with external stimuli.

Third Speaker TBD, but will be amazing too! Updates to follow…..

Rocket Science and Satellites by USask Students — Arliss Sidloski, Rosy Hettiarachchi, Dustin Preece, and Layne Ransom

Remember student life—racing across campus, pulling all-nighters, and submitting assignments with 0.1 seconds to spare? Now, throw in some actual rocket science, and you’ve got either an absolute blast… or a very impressive explosion. The USask Space Design Team (USST) is no stranger to both! They’ve got a long history of turning caffeine and panic into aerospace marvels, like rockets, satellites, and other “please don’t blow up” projects.

Most recently, the USST Rocketry team returned from the Launch Canada Challenge in Timmins, ON, with their 10-foot-tall baby, Zenith—still in one piece, thankfully. Oh, and they’re also partnered with SkCubeSat on some satellite shenanigans. You might’ve heard of RADSAT-SK1, Saskatchewan’s very first homegrown satellite which launched in 2023 (yup, it made it to space!), and now the team is brewing up its sequel, RADSAT-SK2, which promises to be just as out of this world!

Arliss, Layne, and Rosy are all in the final stretch of their mechanical engineering degrees at USask, while Dustin is looking for the next big thing, preferably in aerospace. In addition to academic life, Arliss serves as the President of the USask Space Design Team and was the Technical Project Manager for both RADSAT-SK1 and RADSAT-SK2.

Rosy led the Zenith rocketry project this past year as the sole Project Manager and is excited about some major upgrades as the rocketry team gears up for the 2025 competition.Dustin, an esteemed team alumnus, was the Technical Project Manager for RADSAT-SK1. Layne, a former member of the USST executive, was highly involved in the cubesat projects and once held the positions of HR and Communications Project Manager for RADSAT-SK1 and RADSAT-SK2.

Arliss Sidloski, Rosy Hettiarachchi, Dustin Preece, and Layne Ransom are here to show you what happens when students juggle university classes with a passion for aerospace—it’s like balancing a rocket on a tightrope while trying to pass midterms. They’re here to prove that with the right mix of coffee, equations, and rocket fuel, even students can reach for the stars—literally!

About time and space – is everything relative? – Alexander Moewes

Have you ever asked yourself which physics properties are absolute, and which are relative? How about time, length, mass or speed of light? 

In 1999, Time magazine selected physicist Albert Einstein as the person of the millennium. His powerful theory of special relativity touches on these questions and are based on a very simple yet surprising basic assumption – the speed of light is a constant.

In my talk I will touch on these parameters and explain some of the surprising implications from this theory.

Alexander Moewes was educated in Hamburg, Germany. After furthering his experimental skills at various synchrotrons in the US, he joined the physics department of U of S in 2000 where he is a physics professor and Canada Research Chair. For his research, he uses the Canadian Light Source to study new materials. Alex has a knack for fundamental physics questions – especially when at first glance they seem to contradict common sense.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/995629102447?aff=oddtdtcreator

Erika Dyck invites you to join us for a journey through Psychedelics, their use and history in Saskatchewan

Did you ever wonder why/how Saskatchewan became the psychedelic hotspot of the 1950s? Our trapezoidal province was anything but square when it became the hub of hallucinogenic research and Indigenous ceremonial rights.

Saskatchewan was the only province in Canada to legally recognize Indigenous peyote ceremonies in 1954, and in 1956, the superintendent of the Saskatchewan Provincial Mental Hospital at Weyburn, Humphry Osmond, urged Aldous Huxley to “soar angelic” by taking a “pinch of psychedelic”. These visionary characters put the province on the map, and the legacy of their out-of-the-box-thinking continues to shape our thinking on the place of psychedelics in the modern world. 

In this talk I will revisit some of this colourful history and consider how Canada might rethink its laws on psychedelics in the future.

We are so pleased to announce that the Inaugural NerdNite in Saskatoon was such a success,, we are doing it again! Join us October 1st at the Thirsty Scholar for another round!

At long last, after generations of effort, NerdNite is coming to Saskatoon!! The very first Saskatoon NerdNite, set to take place on July 23 (mark the date in your calendar).

We are very proud to present to you some of Saskatoon’s, and dare we say, the world’s top scientists, physicists, and baritones to share with you space-time, things that go ’round and ’round, and super smart computers … all while you get to enjoy a pint or two with friends!

As always, if you have an idea for a presentation or are just interested in NerdNite in general, feel free to reach out to us, we are really pretty good at getting back to you!

Tickets at

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/saskatoon-nerd-nite-inaugural-event-tickets-927004243647

Our Presenters:

About time and space – is everything relative? – Alexander Moewes

Have you ever asked yourself which physics properties are absolute, and which are relative? How about time, length, mass or speed of light? 

In 1999, Time magazine selected physicist Albert Einstein as the person of the millennium. His powerful theory of special relativity touches on these questions and are based on a very simple yet surprising basic assumption – the speed of light is a constant.

In my talk I will touch on these parameters and explain some of the surprising implications from this theory.

Alexander Moewes was educated in Hamburg, Germany. After furthering his experimental skills at various synchrotrons in the US, he joined the physics department of U of S in 2000 where he is a physics professor and Canada Research Chair. For his research, he uses the Canadian Light Source to study new materials. Alex has a knack for fundamental physics questions – especially when at first glance they seem to contradict common sense.

How does a Cyclotron support healthcare and nuclear innovations? – John Root

Imagine you have been invited to apply your life’s experience as a neutron-beam researcher and manager of the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre to help place Saskatchewan among global leaders of nuclear research development and training.  And by the way, the organization you will be establishing is expected to operate the brand new Saskatchewan Cyclotron Facility to support healthcare and innovation in nuclear imaging and therapeutics. 

John Root has never before made a presentation at a Nerd Nite, and is primarily known around here as the Executive Director of the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, Inc., or perhaps as an amateur singer (baritone).  He is thrilled with the invitation to introduce an audience of fellow Nerds to the general idea of smashing protons into targets, generating radioactive isotopes, producing nuclear-imaging agents to diagnose cancer and other diseases, and providing Saskatchewan innovators with some cool tools to develop new therapies or reveal metabolic processes in living plants. 

Conversations with a Quantum Future – Steven Rayan

We often remark, with full hindsight, on how different life must have been before the adoption of disruptive technologies, such as electricity, the telephone, or the computer. Observers from before the times of these technologies, even with the most imaginative foresight, would have found it very challenging to fully anticipate the many irreversible changes to everyday life arising from such devices. Guess what? We might be at a similar juncture. Let’s meet your first quantum computer and imagine, together, our post-quantum lives.

Steven Rayan is a mathematician, mathematical physicist, and quantum scientist who received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2011.  He then spent 5 years researching and teaching at the University of Toronto before taking up a professorship at the University of Saskatchewan. At USask, he founded the campus’ quantum research centre (quanTA), which convenes quantum research activities in the province of Saskatchewan.  Dr. Rayan has been a champion of quantum computing, and he has been twice featured in Scientific American, first for his work in the mathematics of quantum materials and again for his work in quantum jazz (yes, you heard that right).  One of Dr. Rayan’s recent papers in quantum materials was a finalist for the prestigious Cozzarelli Prize (2022) of the US National Academy of Sciences, selected from over 3200 papers.  Steven is a highly sought after speaker, giving over 100 invited talks around the world since 2010, as well as podcasts, numerous panel sessions, and a 2023 TEDx talk titled “Quantum Magic: Using Mathematics and Art to Make the Impossible Possible”.  He invites you to join him in trying to make impossible things possible