Nerd Nite Honolulu #4: Dinosaurs, sex, and traffic!

So a big space rock came and killed the dinosaurs….Is it really that simple? How does a species become extinct, and what does reproduction have to do with it? Just what do we know about dinosaur sexual relations anyway? And maybe a few more revelations about those that ruled the world before us.

Travis Atwood grew up digging fossils outside of Austin, Texas. In grad school, he reconstructed terrestrial paleoenvironments using various geochemical methods on fossils. Two years ago (after a brief stint in oil and environmental industries) he moved out here to be a science educator at Bishop Museum.

Traffic here is bad. Chances are it’s the worst you’ve ever had. We’ll take a light-hearted but critical look at traffic and congestion levels from two perspectives: that of the urban planner (we have those in Honolulu, right?) and that of the everyday driver. We’ll see why throwing capacity at the problem isn’t always the best answer and take a look at some up-and-coming technologies that aim to take the sting out of road rage.

Clay McKell is getting his PhD in electrical engineering with a focus on the math behind controlling complex systems. He has spent his entire life in three of the top four most congested cities in the U.S. and now mostly rides his bike.