TEDxPurdueU shares speakers who have 'dared greatly'

February 18, 2013  


West Lafayette, Ind. - TEDxPurdueU, Purdue's independently organized TED conference, is scheduled to host its annual flagship event from 1-6 p.m. March 7 in Loeb Playhouse.

The theme of TEDxPurdueU 2014 is "Daring Greatly," taken from the Theodore Roosevelt quote "The Man in the Arena." It urges the listener to strive towards one's goals - undeterred by failures, obstacles, or the status quo. Speakers who have lived these words will elaborate on how they have personally or professionally dared greatly to produce positive change in their own lives and communities.

Check-in begins at 11:30 a.m. Following the conference, a special post-event reception will be held for speakers and attendees at 6:30 p.m.

The event features 15 speakers and performers from the Purdue community and beyond, including:

* Moira Gunn, host of NPR's "Tech Nation."

* Kerry Candaele, independent filmmaker and global activist.

* Josh Miles, author and brand strategist.

* Kathy Nimmer, blind public school teacher and author.

* Massimiliano Giorgini, linguist, "Don Quixote" scholar, and punk rock veteran.

* Christine Taylor, vice provost for diversity at Purdue.

* Michael Gunderson, agricultural economist; associate director of research, Center for Food and Agricultural Business.

* Holly Chan, student entrepreneur and emerging business strategist.

* Beth Holloway, director of the Women in Engineering Program; Director of Student Success.

* David Smith, Newspace entrepreneur; MBA student.

* Bill Watson, education reformer; associate professor of learning design and technology.

* Patrick Pawletko, globally-minded student engineer.

* Ronald Hickland, bowling ball designer and advocate for youth in STEM fields.

* Michael Wilson, engineering pracademic.

* Jessica Huber, inventor of SpeechVive device; Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.

* Snorb!, award-winning local progressive acoustic trio.

"TEDxPurdueU is a uniquely inspiring event, in that it synthesizes the efforts of some of Purdue’s preeminent thinkers and innovators across many fields. This produces an environment conducive for interdisciplinary collaboration and inspired reflection like none other, " said Joseph Louis, a graduate student in the School of Civil Engineering, and 2014 TEDxPurdueU director.

Tickets for TEDxPurdueU are available at http://tedxpurdueu.com/or the Hall of Music Box Office, and cost $10 for students and $25 for the general public. TEDxPurdueU T-shirts are also available for purchase at the time of ticket purchase.

TEDxPurdueU can be followed on Twitter @TEDxPurdueU and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TEDxPurdueU

About TEDx

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 discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading." Starting as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available free, at http://new.ted.com/. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The conference takes place each spring in Long Beach, Calif., along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs, Calif.; the annual TEDGlobal conference is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TED's media initiatives include http://new.ted.com/, where new TEDTalks are posted daily; the recently launched TED-Ed platform for students and educators; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide; and TEDBooks, short e-books by speakers that elaborate on a single idea originally presented on TED's stage. 

Contacts: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations Director of Marketing, 765-494-9712, aeeddy@purdue.edu

Aaron Chandran, assistant director of TEDxPurdueU, 616-204-8306 

Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photograph is available at http://www.convocations.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/902418_559392594101128_742901810_o.jpg.

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