Theme: Chain Reactions

A butterfly flaps it's wings in China and a tornado rises in midwestern America. Highly unlikely, although one can't underestimate the sensitive dependency between the smallest of our actions and their impact on the bigger picture. Introducing TEDx NTUA, we want to look deep into the ways our individual creativity changes the world around us. Experiment with different reagents and ignite the proliferation we want to see in society. Push the first domino and admire the intricate way the rest fall into. Our theme this year is Chain Reactions. Empowered by the cohesion that binds the disciplines of engineering we hope to plant a seed of hope and harvest a forest of endless possibilities.

Join us and lets mold ideas into progress, into history.

The Hub Events
Alkminis 5
Iroon Polytechneiou 9
Athens, Attiki, 11854
Greece

Engineers of the Earth

The Engineers of the Earth (EngoE) is a nongovernmental organization founded in Athens in 2008. It is a civil, nonprofit association whose goal is to provide technical support and ‘know how’to developing countries and international nonprofit, nongovernmental organiza- tions. EngoE aims to combat poverty and contribute to the socioeconomic develop- ment of developing societies by finding technical solutions adjusted to local condi- tions, with great respect for the environment.

Andrianos Golemis

He is one of the two Greeks ever to have overwintered on Antarctica. Adrian Golemis grew up in Larissa and studied medicine at the Aristotle Univrsity of Thessaloniki. He then completed the Master in Space Studies at the Internation Space University in Strassbourg. He worked for the ESA designing medical and psychological selection criteria for long term mission Cosmonauts. Adrian was selected in 2013 by the European Space Agency to conduct research at the remote Concordia station, study- ing human performance and adaptation in extreme environments, gaining knowl- edge that will help future pioneers take their first step on Mars and beyond!

Ashley Dove-Jay

Ashley Dove-Jay is reading his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol. His research concerns the development of future ‘green’ aircraft morphing wing technologies. He has played a major part in various ESA and NASA projects on space simulation and designing exploration spacecrafts. From the moonscapes of Utah for a mock Mars mission to the arctic archipelago of Svalbard for biological research on floral polinators, Ashley has traveled all over the Earth to pave the path to Mars. His knowl- edge is valuable when solar storms are threatening our communications.

Athina Pitta

Athina Pitta has studied Public International Law in France and International Relations in Greece. She speaks fluently Greek, English, French, Turkish, and she is a beginner in Spanish and Arabic. She has lived and worked in France, Belgium and Turkey. Her international work experience accompanied with her avocation with the online learning of both International Law and foreign languages have inspired her to introduce linguistic tourism to the world and create the Startup “Glossopolis”. Glossopolis is an e-learning platform that teaches the greek language to tourists, motivating them to use it while at their destination, transcending from a trip to an international experience and from being a tourist to being a traveller. Afterall, as Nelson Mandela once said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Daphne Becket

Daphne Becket, daughter of the prominent Greek junta resistant Maria Becket, is a citizen of the world as well as an architect of the world. Having worked in the UK, the US, Switzerland, the Middle East and Indonesia, her passion for the preservation of our national cultural heritage brought her back to Greece for the restoration of the windmills of the monastery of St John in Patmos, for which the country received a Europa Nostra Award.

Dimitris Fouskakis

Dimitris Fouskakis was born and raised in Athens. In 1995 he graduated from the Mathematics department of the University of Athens anc continued to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Bath. He conducted research at Bristol University for the Pharmaceutical and the Dentistry department and latet in Athens for the Public Health and Epidemiology department. In 2004 he became a Lector at NTUA and today he is a Subtitute Professor of applied statistics. His research varies from statistics, decision theories and biostatistics to epidemiology, with numerous publications and references in scientific journals. He is a member of the International Community of Bayesian Statistics, the Greek Institute of Statistics and The Greek MAthematic Society.

Elias D. Kouvelas

Elias D. Kouvelas, MD, PhD, is emeritus professor of physiology in the faculty of medicine, University of Patras, Greece, having served as its chairman from 1978 to 2005. After his Ph.D. degree his continued his studies abroad and he has worked as a researcher in many Universities. He is a member of Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and he has also served as a member of the National Advisory Research Board. Recent research activities focus on the study of the molecular disturbances in experimental models of degenerative diseases of the brain, stem cell transplantation in the brain of experimental models of disease Parkinson and study of the impact of early experi- ences in the molecular structure of the brain of adults. Alongside, during the past few years his main avocation involves the problem of the relationship between brain and consciousness.

Ignatios Fotiou

Ignatios Fotiou is a founding member of the spin-off startup TOBEA (Think Out of the Box Engineering Applications), that came out of the Technical M echanics Lab of the Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering department of the Univrsity of Patras, which specializes in applications to better the lives of people with disabilities. Ignatios helped with the conception and creation of Seatrack, a global innovation. The device helps people with disabilities access the sea through an solar powered moving seat. It won the first prize in the “Greece Innovates 2” competition and aspires to be installed in every beach in Greece, allowing acces not only to the sea, but to life as well.

Israel Dejene

Ιsrael Dejene was born and raise in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He studied music at the local university and has collaborated since with lots of musicians from Africa, Europe and America. His passison for music is projected through his endeavors to combine traditional ethiopian tribal music with modern sounds, creating fascinating results. He founded Megabiskate in 2005 by Israel Dejene who saw kids in his neighbourhood falling through the cracks in the system and wanted a way to engage and inspire them to stay positive. Megabiskate began as a very small grassroots movement but has quickly grown into a worldwide inspiration. That same movement built Ethiopia’s first ramp in the History of the country. In 2014 Israel won the Global Citizen “From Africa with Love” award for his social contribution in Ethiopia.

Jon Mark Walls

Jon Mark Walls is a social entrepreneur, lecturer and speechwriter who is driven by the idea that better communication can lead to better politics. Having worked for the United Nations as well as various governments and NGOs, he is currently the CEO of GovFaces which seeks to improve interactive communication between citizens and representatives. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Jon Mark has sought to blend traditional communications approaches with new technologies and develop ways of delivering these across the full spectrum of social, cultural and political environments.

Thanos Vlastos

Thanos Vlastos, professor at the University of Liege, has studied Architectural Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, the Ecole Speciale des Travaux Publics and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausses Paris. He is an Urban Planner-Traffic Engineer, Associate Professor at the NTUA, School of Rural and Surveying Eng., Department of Geography and Regional Planning. Teaches also at the Open University - Graduate Program: Environmental Planning Infrastructure. He has participated in many conferences in Greece and abroad and published in many journals. Often writes articles in newspapers and magazines. He served as scientific coordinator of several research programs. His main subject of interest is Sustainable Mobility and he is the author of eight related books.

Theodosis Tassios

Professor Theodosis Tassios was born in Kastoria, Greece. He graduated from National Technical University of Athens in 1953 and he was acclaimed permanent Professor of NTUA in 1969. In the following years he founded the Reinforce Concrete Laboratory , taught in numerous universities across he world and has been a founding member of various Greek,American and European Scientific Unions. He has been a unique element and has significantly contributed in the professional and scientific growth of our country. What is remarkable , is that he did not remain attached solely to his science but he investigated several philosophical , pedagogical , linguistic and sociopolitical issues.

Yannis Ampelas

Yannis Ampelas along with Yannis Choulakis and Jim Zardakas are the founders of Fooolish Design Agency. Two graphic designers and a software engineer, respectively. Aside from the personal style and aesthetic touch they put in every project they undertake, the one they're doing on the side is aimed to change how we read the news. Through NEWSLEXIA, the fooolish designers try to inform and spread the news, not through articles and reports, but with an image, keeping us informed and thrusting news reporting into the future.

Yorgos Koutsoyannopoulos

Dr. Yorgos Koutsoyannopoulos is an electrical engineer by NTUA education and entrepreneur deep inheart. He co-founded HELIC in 2000 to launch a true high-tech offspring from Greece and go global. With his fellow team members he attracted renowned institutional investors and business angels from Silicon Valley, Japan and Europe, and managed to win as customers 12 of the 20 biggest global semiconductor corporations. He will talk about endless perseverance and hard work, why “global high- tech made in Greece” is feasible and how an idea born in a NTUA research lab can spark the fire of great products that attract investors and users from all over the world.