Nerd Nite Miami - August 7, 2025

Nerd Nite Miami returns Thurs, August 7th at Gramps.

Nerd Nite is an evening of entertaining and educational presentations. Speakers present for 15 minutes, followed by a brief Q&A with the audience. Doors at 6. The show begins promptly at 7pm. We do a round of trivia in-between the presentations.

Guest speakers

Dr. Kristen McConnell

Victor Rodriguez-Ros

Joshua "TechDev" Walker

Hosted by Ricardo Williams

PRESENTATION #1

“Fighting Cancer with Radiation: Precision, Power, and a Lot of Physics” by Dr. Kristen McConnell

Radiation gets a bad rap. From comic books to disaster headlines, but it’s also one of the most powerful tools in modern science and medicine. In this talk, we’ll explore where radiation shows up in your daily life (hint: it’s not just your microwave), how it’s used safely, and the surprising ways it helps us, especially in the fight against cancer.

We'll dive into how radiation therapy works to target and destroy tumors with pinpoint precision, how physicists plan treatments to protect healthy organs, and what makes some types of radiation more effective than others.

Come curious—we’ll break down the science, bust some myths, and maybe even talk about glowing in the dark (spoiler: you won’t).

Dr. Kristen McConnell is a board-certified proton therapy physicist at Miami Cancer Institute. She holds a PhD in Radiological Sciences, with earlier degrees in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering from the University of Texas. Dr. McConnell completed her clinical residency at UC San Diego and has been a practicing medical physicist for the past six years. Her research focuses on how radiation interacts with the human body and how we can better exploit biology to enhance its effects in cancer treatment. She’s passionate about making complex science accessible—and maybe even a little fun.

PRESENTATION #2

“Teaching AI and Cloud Through Politics and Shitty Pop Culture” by Joshua “TechDev” Walker

Joshua “TechDev” Walker is what happens when you combine an Army vet, a self-taught cloud architect, a social impact pioneer, and just the right amount of caffeine—then hit “run.” He’s also the author of “Venti Fried Chicken,” a book that’s not about coffee or poultry, but might still leave you hungry for more.

Joshua has graced Deloitte’s “Uncensored” series and their “On Cloud Podcast". The Orlando Business Journal keeps writing about him, mostly because he’s always up to something impactful in the tech community (and possibly because he’s bribed them with snacks).

When he’s not architecting clouds (no, not the ones in the sky—please stop asking), Joshua is out there serving clients, teaching tech, and giving talks that are 80% inspiration, 20% memes, and 100% likely to include at least one reference to Star Wars. His mantra? Train, inspire, and relate—because someone has to explain Kubernetes to your grandma. #cloudGang

PRESENTATION #3

"Joachim Meyer and the Fechtschule: Centuries-Old German Swordsmanship in the Modern World." by Victor Rodriguez-Ros

Victor Rodriguez-Ros has spent the last seven years deeply immersed in the study and practice of the Art of Combat as instructed by Joachim Meyer. As Director of Assaults at Living Meyer and a licensed physiotherapist, he brings a unique perspective to the historical martial arts, bridging centuries-old German swordsmanship with modern understanding.