Furry Masterclass Series - Spottacus | "Furries, Neurodivergence, and STEM..."

"Furries, Neurodivergence, and STEM: Finding Your Path from Zero to One to One Billion"

This is Furries at Berkeley's inaugural Furry Masterclass event, the first in a series of talks featuring prominent academic voices from within the furry community.

This talk is hosted by the fantastic Dr. David "Spottacus" Benaron!

Spottacus is an inventor, entrepreneur, biochemist, a founding editorial board member of the Journal of Biomedical Optics, and a former professor at Stanford University. Among his achievements are the invention of the green light heart sensor, the first in vivo imaging of light-emitting genes, and the multispectral wearable optical sensor for tracking hemoglobin and hydration levels. Last year, Spottacus won a lifetime achievement award in biomedical optical physics from the International Society for Optics and Photonics. Spottacus is also a furry; a member of a community based upon the appreciation of anthropomorphic animals, featuring all kinds of creative self-expression. While furry has long been the target of misinterpretation and vitriol, folks like Spottacus show that fandom engagement and living outside the box can be boons rather than limitations.

Spottacus' talk explores his personal experiences with; as well as the intersections between; his career in STEM, the furry fandom, and neurodivergence. We hope that you enjoy.

Thank you so much to Spottacus for giving such a wonderful talk, as well as your help in processing this recording! On behalf of everyone in the club, thank you.

Special thanks to Carbon for putting so much work into making this event happen! This would not be possible, in any circumstance, without your organization, outreach, and communication.

In addition, thank you to Chipper for writing a fantastic introduction, out of which this description is largely composed.

We wish to thank the ASUC - Office of the President, the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and the Department of Bioengineering for making this possible.

This event was funded by the ASUC Multicultural Initiative Fund.