Lawrence Chernin

Bio:

Dabbler in many things including: astronomy, online dating, machine learning, games, and chip design (hardware). After completing a post-doc in astronomy at Berkeley I was drawn southwards and worked at various semiconductor companies in Silicon Valley. Two years ago, I decided to plunge into social media and to switch coasts. I first created BrainiacDating.com out of my lack of success in using existing online dating sites. I began to build a community of exploration - something like a salon, but also including museum expeditions and hikes. As I love to travel, I also launched Brainiac meetup groups in several cities: the group here in NYC has nearly 3000 members. There are many different kinds of intelligence, and I've always been interested in reading the biographies of successful college dropouts and trying to figure out what makes a person truly exceptional.

• Title: Founder, Brainiac Dating
• Location: Midtown
• Contact: @BrainiacDating

What originally drew you to studying astronomy? What led you to switch fields into electronics and then into social media?

Even as a kid I was interested in space and astronomy. I watched every star trek episode (TOS) at least five times! As you can see I have multiple interests, so I like to try different things.

After BrainiacDating, do you have any plans to create more new projects?

I would like to build more and better social games, perhaps a space oriented game that draws on my astronomy knowledge and my love of science fiction.

What’s your favorite thing to do on a date? What are some of the best things to do on a date in NYC?

My best date advice is to go to a museum, especially since NYC has such an amazing variety of museums.

I met my fiance at a Kandinsky exhibition the Guggenheim. I would also recommend a walk through Central Park or Prospect Park in Brooklyn.