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Nerds In Real Life

Creativity Nerds In Real Life

From Creative Kid to World-Class Inventor

At the age of five, David Yakos’ mom had an instinct about her son’s love for inventing and design. Because of his love for tinkering, she knew he needed space. So, she took an old dryer box, shoved it in the corner and filled it with empty soda bottles, popsicle sticks, and other recycled items and called it “David’s Creative Corner.”

And just like that, a future inventor was inspired.

Today, David Yakos is the Co-Owner, Director of Creativity, Mad-Scientist, and Inventor Extraordinaire of Salient Technologiesa Montana-based product development firm that has invented everything from rocket fuel valves READ MORE

Nerds In Real Life Science & Tech

Raising Nerd Profile: The Computer Programmer

While lots of people may qualify and proudly identify as a Nerd, there are only a few who can claim it as an actual job description. Aaron Hillegass is one of those amazing Nerds, and he’s got a propellered, 10-gallon hat to prove it.

Aaron is the founder of and chief Nerd at Big Nerd Ranch, which, according to its website, has its “Intergalactic Headquarters” based in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to building a successful app development and corporate training company, Aaron has authored several books on programming and software development.

Aaron has been coding since before coding was READ MORE

Nerds In Real Life Science & Tech

Meet the Seshan Brothers, The Middle Schoolers Who Are Inspiring the Next Generation of Roboteers

The Seshan Brothers are middle-school entrepreneurs, coding gurus, world-class tinkerers, LEGO Robotics champions, peer teachers, and pretty much everything Raising Nerd is all about. Together, Sanjay, 13, and Arvind, 11, are an unstoppable team of superNerds from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who founded EV3Lessons.com in 2014 to help other kids learn robotics and become creative, successful coders and engineers.

Raising Nerd Profile: The Roboteers - Seshan Brothers

 

We are huge fans of The Seshan Brothers’ two-pronged credo of “Let’s Learn Together” and “Learn by Doing.” Our Nerd Profiles usually provide an adult’s perspective as a way to inspire kids to pursue STEM careers and what could become their life’s READ MORE

Engineering Nerds In Real Life

Raising Nerd Profile: The Engineering Professor

Hey, Nerd builders, it’s International Engineering Day! In honor of this Nerd-inspired “holiday,” we’re throwing our ultra-high-lumen, career spotlight on engineering professor Dr. Ethan Danahy.

Raising Nerd Profile: Engineering ProfessorDr. Danahy is a Research Assistant Professor at Tufts University’s Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO), a group that’s been around for 20 years exploring methodologies and tools for improving engineering education, as well as exploring ways in which they can enhance education through the early introduction of engineering topics to K-12 students. He has a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer Science within Tufts’ School of Engineering.

Dr. Danahy holds graduate READ MORE

Men In The Arts Nerds In Real Life

Raising Nerd Profile: The Disney Imagineer

No matter what part of the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) curriculum strikes

their fancy, being a Nerd is all about passion. And there are few people in the real world more passionate about what they do than the talented Disney Imagineers at The Walt Disney Company.

I’ve known Matt Conover for nearly my entire life and I’ve always been amazed by the sheer joy he projects when he’s working. From high school through college, to the present day as he continues to produce some of the biggest live entertainment events in the world, Matt’s creative zeal and love READ MORE

Nerds In Real Life

Awesome Nerd: Kiara Nirghin

When I was 16, the closest I came to helping solve a global crisis was providing my buddies with a reliable transportation solution because:

  1. I was the first to get his driver’s license, and
  2. My grandmother had two cars (I got the Chevy Citation).

Photo credit: CNN.com Photo credit: CNN.com

At 16, Johannesburg student and Awesome Nerd Kiara Nirghin set her sights on a much, much bigger problem: how to cost-effectively sustain crops in drought-stricken areas of South Africa.

Kiara formulated a new kind of super absorbent polymer (SAP) that uses orange peel and avocado skins to store water hundreds of times … READ MORE