The nerdiest of all
Toxicologist named Mizzou Wire's Nerd of the Year
"The Antidote." Directed by Nathan Truesdell.
The votes are in. The nerds have been counted. While we don’t have, say, a gold-plated pocket protector or commemorative propeller beanie to offer the Mizzou faculty member honored as the geekiest on campus (blame budget cuts), we can officially bestow upon said professor the title Nerd of the Year.
The winner is <drum roll> Tim Evans, professor of veterinary medicine.
Evans is no stranger to accolades. In recent months his peeps in the College of Veterinary Medicine have honored him with Nerd Appreciation Day, which involved a mass donning of Hawaiian shirts, and elected him their "Cupid" for a Valentine's Day student fund-raising breakfast. In recent weeks Evans' colleagues, friends and fans across the nation have indulged the professor's shameless self-promotion, logging votes on Mizzou Wire in affirmation of his nerdiness.
The veterinarian’s eccentricities also inspired Mizzou alumnus and local filmmaker Nathan Truesdell to make a short documentary about Evans — or his alter ego, The Antidote — for the True/False Film Festival competition “Gimme Truth.” The object of the game: Stump a panel of experts with a two-minute film that’s either unbelievably true or truly unbelievable; the documentarian/mockumentarian who fools the judges wins. Truesdell duped two of the three judges, who found Evans too nerdy to be true, and garnered an honorable mention.
Evans will become The Antidote again this Wednesday when he lectures to veterinary medicine students about handling clinical toxicology cases.
We'd like to congratulate Dr. Evans and thank our readers for supporting Mizzou's best, brightest and geekiest faculty. And to our nerds: Thank you for giving us a glimpse of your quirkily brilliant minds. You are an inspiration to Tigers everywhere.
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