2016 Speakers

Silicon Labs Speaker Stage: Saturday, May 7th, 2016

Time Maker Description
5/4/16 11:15 am Tracy Colello: digital fractal art A combination of art and math, fractal software is easily accessible to create an infinite variety of amazing pictures.
5/4/16 12:00 pm Young women makers panel with Tamara Hudgins of Girlstart Tamara Hudgins of Girlstart will lead a panel of young women makers from groups such as Lady Cans Robotics Group and Thinkery Volunteens. Topics to include successes, challenges, and greatest accomplishments.
5/4/16 1:15 pm Jeff Branson of SparkFun: Teaching the Machines to Be More Human We stand at a place in history where the rate of societal change is at a record pace. What drives this ever increasing adaptation to our world through technology? Do we have models in the past that help us plan for the future? How do we teach formative learning for environments we don’t understand? Is any of this good for us at basic levels?
5/4/16 2:15 pm Dr. Rachael Livermore and Dr. Jeffrey Silverman: Distant Galaxies and Exploding Stars The hosts of Astronomy on Tap ATX will share a little bit about their respective areas of astronomical expertise. Dr. Livermore (aka MC High-z) is world-famous for her work on the most distant galaxies and gravitational lensing. Dr. Silverman (aka MC SuperDuperNova) is a leading authority on exploding stars and dark energy.
5/4/16 3:15 pm Caleb Kraft of Make magazine: Wow Factor and Safety with Shave Evans, Tim Deagan, Joe DiPrima, and Joey Ficklin A panel about high voltage and high temperatures. Dangerous stuff for fun and profit.
5/4/16 4:30 pm Josh Norem of Silicon Labs How to Find Solutions to (Almost) Any Problem

This talk will look at how to effectively get help with technical problems and start the debug process.
We’ll look at how to define and communicate the problem and where to look for help. We’ll also look at the most common first steps towards solving most technical problems.

Silicon Labs Speaker Stage: Sunday, May 8th, 2016

Time Maker Description
5/4/16 11:00 am Josh Norem of Silicon Labs How to Find Solutions to (Almost) Any Problem

This talk will look at how to effectively get help with technical problems and start the debug process.
We’ll look at how to define and communicate the problem and where to look for help. We’ll also look at the most common first steps towards solving most technical problems.
5/4/16 12:00 pm Robert Steimle: NXP Silicon Phonograph Record NXP Silicon Phonograph Record

NXP Silicon Record – A new spin on an old technology. Phonograph records have been made of many materials: shellac, vinyl, aluminum, cardboard, wood and glass have all been used before. For the first time a 200 mm semiconductor grade silicon wafer has been patterned with audio and plays on a turntable.
5/4/16 1:00 pm Dr Alex Bevan of Urban Mining Company: Possibly Austin’s greenest new high tech start up; from waste to high performance magnetic materials. Magnetic materials are used in everyday life, in cell phones, computers and many other high tech products. Where do these materials come from? How do you make a super strong magnet? These any many more questions will be answered, including a range of interactive demonstrations.
5/4/16 2:00 pm Jeff Branson of SparkFun Panel; Education and Risk: How New Methods of Learning are Upping the Ante From project-based learning to MOOCs to the flipped classroom the “maker mentality” is forcing education to make some bets that may be scary. Who are the people placing wagers and what are the recent outcomes, both good and bad. The panel members are: Marie Catrett ;Tigerlilly preschool , Stephanie Nygen-Mathews Elementary teacher,Patrick Benfield -St. Gabriel’s; Makerspace Director, Shelly Rodriguez -UT Austin; Secondary Teacher Prep),Moderator – Jeff Branson; SparkFun Electronics
5/4/16 3:15 pm Bon Davis: Lucid Dreaming: Hacking Your Head…In Bed Bon Davis is currently working in Professional Theater Production (IATSE Union), following an active academic career (BA in Classics, MA in Anthropology). A Certified Tai Chi (Bronze and Gold Medalist), Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Bon was Co-Director of Yoga House In Austin. His cultural activities range from visual and multimedia art, to poetry performance and large-scale participatory ritual, to percussion performance and teaching, jazz trombone, and acting, directing. His artwork has been exhibited and published in several galleries in Austin, Texas and Buffalo, NY.