TEDxUND 2014 to explore 'Creating Knowledge Together'

Author: Julie Hail Flory

TEDxUND

The University of Notre Dame will present TEDxUND 2014, featuring a diverse lineup of speakers exploring the topic “Creating Knowledge Together,” on Jan. 21 (Tuesday) in the Patricia George Decio Theatre of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Admission to TEDxUND 2014 is free, but tickets are required. Applications are being accepted online until midnight Dec. 15 (Saturday) with 100 seats available for the live event in the Decio Theatre and an additional 800 for a live stream broadcast that will be presented in DeBartolo’s Leighton Concert Hall. Attendees will be selected by lottery and must claim tickets at the DeBartolo box office 15 to 30 minutes prior to the event.

TEDxUND 2014 will be composed of two live sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m., and will feature emcees Candida Moss, professor of New Testament and early Christianity, and Hugh R. Page Jr., vice president and associate provost for undergraduate affairs, dean of First Year of Studies and professor of theology and Africana studies.

Scheduled topics and speakers are as follows:

Morning session

  • “It’s Not All Sex and Violence: Cooperation in Human Evolution,” Agustin Fuentes, professor of anthropology
  • “Creating Community Amid ‘Urban Decline’: A Study in Resurrection,” Claire Fyrqvist, 2005 Notre Dame graduate
  • “Foreign Aid and International Volunteering: Problems Behind the Vision of Service,” Jingting Kang, undergraduate student
  • “Searching for the other 95% of the Universe: True Stories From the Energy Frontier,” Kevin Lannon, professor of physics
  • “Measuring Design Aesthetics: A Quantitative Challenge,” José E. Lugo, graduate student
  • “Sharing Knowledge Through the Experience of Musical Performance,” Carmen-Helena Telléz, professor of conducting and director, Graduate Choral Conducting Program
  • “The Beautiful, Messy Democracy of Chamber Music,” Third Coast Percussion, ensemble-in-residence, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (morning and afternoon sessions)
  • “Changing the Hivemind: How Social Media Manipulation Affects Everything,” Tim Weninger, assistant professor of computer science and engineering
  • “Tourette Does the Talking,” Thomas J. White, undergraduate student
  • “The Value of a Paycheck and the Urgency of Now,” Peter Keon Woo, undergraduate student

Afternoon session

  • “Learning to See: The Power of Visual Communication and Training the Eye,” Marie Bourgeois, graphic designer, University Communications; assistant professor, visual communication design
  • “Big Data for Common Good: Connecting the Dots for Patient-Centered Outcomes,” Nitesh Chawla, Frank Freimann Collegiate Chair of Engineering and associate professor of computer science and engineering
  • “Varieties of Democracy: Global Standard, Local Knowledge,” Michael Coppedge, professor of political science and faculty fellow, Kellogg Institute for International Studies
  • “The Talk About Talent: Rapping About Rap,” Jake Makowski, undergraduate student
  • “Connecting the Dots: Caring Education, Joyful Learning, and Human Integrity,” Maria McKenna, director of undergraduate studies, Department of Africana Studies
  • “Don’t Miss the Trees for the Forest: Generating Small Data Can Solve Big Problems,” Michael Mesterharm, graduate student
  • “Evaluating the Role Culture Plays in Economic Outcomes,” Joel Ostdiek, undergraduate student
  • “The Face of Innovation: What Does an Innovator Look Like?” J.R. Reagan, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP
  • “The Beautiful, Messy Democracy of Chamber Music,” Third Coast Percussion, ensemble-in-residence, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (morning and afternoon sessions)
  • “The Power of Vulnerability: Healing Through Portraiture,” Christa Grace Watkins, undergraduate student

TEDxUND 2014 is presented by Student Government, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and Hesburgh Libraries, with support from the Office of the Provost and University Communications. More information is available online at TEDx.nd.edu.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x means an independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized, and are subject to certain rules and regulations.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California almost 30 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes on a diverse mix of topics. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The TED2014 Conference will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast in neighboring Whistler. TEDGlobal 2014 will be held in Rio de Janeiro.

TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; and TEDBooks, short e-books on powerful ideas. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.

For information about TED’s upcoming conferences, visit ted.com/registration.

Contact: Paul Van Ness, event organizer, 574-631-1873, pvanness@nd.edu