Theme: Apples That Fell From Heaven

The most brilliant solutions in the world come from unforeseen incidences in life, best known of which is the apple that fell on Newton's head, which led him to come with the abstract idea of gravity. Our world today witnesses similar geniuses, who, through both sheer determination and true talent bring about progressive ideas to revolutionize our perception of practicality. Game changers in their respective fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design, their work achieves what people deemed impossible. They dared to dream big, acted on their passion and through their hard work, converted fantasies to reality.
TEDxIITKharagpur 2015 brings to the forefront a few of these gems, with talks set to instill in the audience a touch of inspiration, reason and enthusiasm, to see through their eyes and strive for innovation the way they do.

Kalidas Auditorium
Indian Instittue of Technology
Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302
India

Anand Sivaraman

Anand Sivaraman, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has a diverse experience in designing and bringing to market products at the intersection of Technology and Public Health. Anand is currently the Founder-Director of Remidio Innovative Solutions - a company that has designed smartphone based technology solutions in retinal and corneal imaging in ophthalmology, that allows non-ophthalmologists to help screen for preventable blindness

Armstrong Pame

Popularly known as the “Miracle Man”, Armstrong Pame is an IAS officer in the Tamenglong region of Manipur. Pame understood the plight of the people of Tousem, one of the most backward regions in India. He along with the locals took up an ambitious project to construct what the people of Tousem needed the most, The “People’s Road”, a 100 km all weather, motorable road stretch connecting it with rest of Manipur, Assam and Nagaland without any external aid. The funds needed for this noble endeavour were collected via crowdfunding through a Facebook page with contributions received from people all over the world.

Bikash Barai

An expert in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Hacking, Social Engineering and Attack Simulation; under his leadership, iViZ became one of the top 6 cloud-based security companies as recognised by the US Navy, US Department of Homeland Security and London Business School. He has done a double B.Tech in 'Computer Science' and 'Architecture', and a Masters in 'Computer Science and Information Technology' from IIT Kharagpur. He is passionate in his efforts to promote entrepreneurship and is a leading member at TiE and is an iSpirit Fellow.

Gerry Martin

Passion for wildlife and expedition led Gerry Martin to become National Geographic Channel's first Indian 'Adventurer'. His brainchild, 'The Gerry Martin Project' is not just another conservation project, but is based on a commercially sustainable model that brings in profits by conserving nature. His achievements make him a pioneer in the unexplored terrain of conservation based entrepreneurship.

Jayen Varma

A bass guitar player and a playback singer, Jayen Varma currently holds the world record for being the fastest bass guitar player, clocking a peak of 660 BPM. Jayen Varma is also the inventor of the 'Indian Slap Bass' which combines the Tabla and Mridangam style finger techniques on the bass guitar. His feats have earned him praise from the likes of legendary bass guitarists including Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and Bootsy Collins.

Mayank Shekhar

Having hosted NDTV Prime Filmy, Mayank Shekhar, cultural editor at Hindustan Times, has always been accredited for his film reviews. Through his blog, The W14, he brings a unique perspective on movies, transcending the boundaries of entertainment journalism while striking just the right chord with the viewers.