TEDxPurdueU speakers share 'Meraki'
March 25, 2015
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – TEDxPurdueU, Purdue's independently organized TED conference, will host a fourth annual flagship event from 6-10 p.m. on April 11 in Loeb Playhouse.
The theme of TEDxPurdueU 2015 is "Meraki." An untranslatable word from Modern Greek, it is used to describe doing something with passion, creativity, or love – when you undertake a task so intensely, that you nearly leave a physical piece of yourself in your work.
The event features nine speakers and performers, including:
* Lexi Hiland – videographer and producer of La Loteria de la Vida.
* Sarah Hallberg – director of medical weight loss at IU Health Medical.
* Mamoon Hamid – general partner at Social+Capital.
* Ka-Boom – high energy dance performance.
* Brent Drake – chief data officer, Purdue University.
* Glenn Weissinger – vice president of strategic planning, retired, at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
* Lalita Amos – President and senior executive coach at Total Team Solutions, LLC.
* Todd Putnam – chief commercial officer at Bolthouse Farms.
* Frank Gruber - CEO and co-founder of Tech Cocktail.
"Boilermakers, both past and present, have accomplished great things all around the world, and 'Meraki' certainly characterizes the level of passion and focus they have held throughout their endeavors. It is our hope that attendees will take the speakers messages and apply them to initiate positive change in their own lives and communities," said Aaron Chandran, a senior undergraduate student in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and 2015 TEDxPurdueU executive director.
Check-in begins at 5:30 p.m. Following the conference, a special post-event reception will be held for speakers and attendees at 10 p.m. in the Anvil, 320 North St., West Lafayette.
Tickets for TEDxPurdueU are available for purchase at http://tedxpurdueu.com/, and cost $15 for students and $25 for the general public.
View the trailer for TEDxPurdueU conference.
TEDxPurdueU can be followed on Twitter @TEDxPurdueU and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TEDxPurdueU.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
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 = 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 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 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 annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs, California. The annual TEDGlobal conference is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.
TED's media initiatives include 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.
Sources: Jacqueline Hills, TEDxPurdueU marketing chair, 765-496-0094, jfhills@purdue.edu
Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-9712, aeeddy@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Publication-quality photographs are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxpurdueu/13155912064/
