It started with the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds. Then came geek chic. Now, "brogrammers" — computer programmers with frat house sensibilities — are hitting the scene. And the stars of The Big Bang Theory, one of TV's most popular sitcoms, are cast as brilliant but nerdy physicists.

The stereotype of the geeky techie that persists in pop culture is fading in real life, thanks to the legacy of industry giants such as Apple founder Steve Jobs and the increasing dependence of more Americans on the skills of those who know how to make their gadgets work. The emerging portrait: Geeks are cool.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a cerebral hot spot, has run a "Charm School" for 19 years to hone its students' social and job-hunting skills and erase negative labels. It may finally be paying off.

At the University of Illinois' College of Engineering, the Technology Entrepreneur Center also offers Charm School every fall — a one-day workshop that includes tips on "office finesse" and wardrobe. Similar programs are offered under different names at other schools.

"There's been a shift in the portrayal," says Sherry Turkle, an MIT psychologist and author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other. "We're all techies now. We're dependent on these people, so there's a power shift, a new kind of respect."

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