The Bear presents GRAVITY: encounters with uncontrollable forces

November 16, 2018; at the Maschinenhaus at Kulturbrauerei; Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin

Show host: Dyane Neiman; Music: Victoria Priest;

— co-presented by Berlin SCIENCE WEEK, Ex-Berliner, Hurricane Factory, KCRW Radio, Meeet AG, Moving Speaker —

STORYTELLERS

Dr Tanja Straka

is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin. Tanja’s research interests are centred on bats and she is also interested in human-wildlife conflicts. Her work brought her around the world studying bats in Germany, India, New Zealand and Australia. Tanja has been holding until today roles in both, in environmental NGOs and academia. She received her PhD in 2015 at the University of Melbourne, and her German Diplom in Biology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Tanja is a ‘Women for Nature’ (Yves Rocher) awardee, a Toastmasters Board member, a passionate classical Indian dancer (Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam), lives a vegan life-style, is a half-marathon runner and always wonders how to make the world a better place for wildlife. On her desk are currently books called ‘Some we love, some we hate, some we eat’ and ‘What I talk about when I talk about running’.

Tanja’s story: “Confessions of a Bat Lover”

Dr. Ryan Guterman

is a group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and a guitar player in the institute’s band. He was born in Toronto, Canada and spent most of his life learning how the natural world works before moving to Germany.  As a chemist, he enjoys living on the edge of destruction, whether it be in the lab or in the kitchen. To supplement his voracious appetite for delicious food, he trains as an amateur powerlifter and walks the long routes. Like all civilized people in this world, Ryan Guterman is a fan of the taste of olives and many olive-derived products. He firmly believes that only barbarians could ever shun the delicious god-gifted creation of olives. 

Ryan’s story: “Those Peering Eyes”

Dr. Claudio Paganini

is a PostDoc at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He grew up in Basel before he went to study in Zurich. Good luck and bad decisions brought him to Berlin for his PhD (which he spent partially in Stockholm and Paris). He was always interested in the political aspects of academia, as a student rep at ETH and member of the organizing team of the March for Science in Berlin. He likes to stir the pot a little wherever he goes and is always up for shenanigans. So much so, that the first reaction of a friend, upon the news that he got a PhD position was : "WAS? Du kannst was?" (WHAT? You're actually capable of something?). The temptation of a Challenge he can hardly resist which ended up with Claudio holding his PhD defense Charlie Chapplin style with a suit, umbrella and a mellon hat. 

Get in touch: https://thehappyproton.ch

Claudio’s story: “Breakthrough vs. Establishment - How a relationship can shape a scientific career”

Khushi Pasquale

Growing up in a family of 9 children, Khushi competed for attention from an early age. An actress for 15 years, Khushi served the words of playwrights. In her 20-year career as a language and presentations trainer, Khushi prepared others to take the stage. Now she delights in taking her turn in the spotlight, putting her stories on stage, and finally being the center of attention. Khushi is a Distinguished Toastmaster, a presentations coach, and ardent storyteller. She lives happily in a small Brandenburg village and in her massive imagination.

Khushi’s story: “Nothing Has More Gravity Than The Grave”

Inga​ ​Patarčić

is a PhD Student at Bioinformatics Platform Group, BIMSB, Berlin. To analyze biological questions by using computational methods she started as a high-school student in Zagreb, Croatia. A decade after, she is equipped with a background in molecular biology, knowledge of population genetics, and programming skills to research regulation of genes in the human genome. If you cannot find her climbing, skiing, hiking, running, cycling or doing yoga, she must have been in some city on the other side of Europe fulfilling her #useyourweekends mantra, and testing her serendipity fortune.

In January, look for Inga’s website: “climbersforclimbers” a platform for climbers to share their stories with the community.

You can see Inga in action on Nov. 17th: https://www.facebook.com/events/2142727209303227/

Inga’s story: “From WE to ME”

Ben McGuire

failed maths, doesn`t have a Phd, and has spatial intelligence hovering around zero. Craving mountains and the ocean in equal measure, he somehow finds himself based in Berlin, which has neither. QED. A passionate believer in the ferocious power of story, this lawyer, writer, filmmaker and photographer counts his life`s work as the unlocking of human potential.

His relationship with science has long been a troubled one. With his avid desire to grasp quantum mechanics being daily retarded by a mind that won`t do numbers and doesn’t get systems, Ben doesn’t understand the universe but navigates it instead through semiotics, the study of the signs and symbols that surround us; if only we`d open our eyes. It took an encounter with a speeding motorcycle and imminent death for Ben to finally understand physics – and much, much more…

Ben’s story: "Dying to Learn Physics"

Dr. Jana Malin

In winter 2012, Jana traveled to Yellowstone for the first time. There she met the wolves of the Lamar Valley, which she accompanies still today. The encounter with these wild animals impressed her so very much that she gave up her work as an educational researcher and institute director to follow the wild wolves in Yellowstone National Park and, meanwhile, in Finland too.

Science became art. And the journeys into the wild, which seemed like a never-ending holiday, became challenges that she luckily never saw coming.

Jana’s story: "The Hide"

Dr. Marc Wenskat

is a postdoctoral researcher at the largest accelerator laboratory in Germany – DESY. He is always curious and loves adventures and bad decisions (Goatee!?! Cooked silk worms?!?). But making mistakes is important since he believes that this is the way to gain experience and lets you live your life to the fullest – so fail faster!

He loves rock – in terms of music and climbing; both he enjoys doing, both he is mediocre in, but his passion doesn’t care about that detail. He is getting paid to worry about the surface of a material no one heard of (Niobum) and how it will behave if you cool it down two degrees above absolute zero and apply electric fields 200 times stronger than a lightning in nature. And that’s a pretty cool way to earn your money. Besides this, he has a knack for Japan – the cuisine, history, language, country, philosophy. And thanks to his work, he spent some time there already – and if all goes well he will do this even more often in the future. And hopefully his sword fighting skills will also improve because of that, since he is a Kendoka for quite some time now.

Marc's story: "Mein Pfadintegral finden" or "Wie ich meinem Schwarzen Loch entkam"

Denise Banks-Grasedyck

has a BA in Management and Technology, as well as an MBA. She is still wondering why. After two decades in the corporate world, Denise shifted her focus to her passion for helping people develop into their full potential. As an executive coach, trainer and speaker she is committed to being a servant leader.

Intuitive + Analytical + Observative + Critical + (sometimes) Poetic = a storyteller who studies life and delivers impactful messages in short bursts of fleeting clarity. Note: Mathematical is in no way part of the equation, which is why Denise is closer to a modern day natural philosopher than a scientist.

Denise believes in God, science, and the power of words. She is a lover of justice, equity, people and oat milk lattes – not necessarily in that order. She has a theory …

Denise’s story: "The Melanin, Magnetism and Gravity Connection - A Theory"

Dyane Neiman

is dedicated to inspiring people from all walks of life to discover the power of their own voice and their own stories to move audiences to action. She is the business owner of Moving-Speaker. In 2015, she founded and now directs the non-profit monthly storytelling event The Bear.

Get in touch: dyane@thebear-storytelling.de

Dyane’s story: “Me & My Muse”