Theme: In Search Of...

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 = 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).

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Alex Dickinson

Dr. Alex Dickinson is Illumina's senior vice president of strategic initiatives. His group's responsibilities include nation­scale population sequencing projects with a focus on how those programs will integrate with and improve national healthcare systems. Previously, Alex was CEO of Helixis, a molecular diagnostic startup he co­founded with Nobel Laureate David Baltimore.Dr. Alex Dickinson is Illumina's senior vice president of strategic initiatives. His group's responsibilities. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Adelaide, Australia, and an MBA from Columbia University in New York.

Antonius Schuch

Antonius Schuh joined Trovagene as Chief Executive Officer in October 2011 and was elected as a Director in December 2011. He is a certified pharmacist and earned his PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Bonn, Germany.

Ben Parr

Ben Parr is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, investor, and expert on attention. Parr was named one of the top ten tech journalists in the world by Say Media and named to the Forbes “30 Under 30.” He is the author of Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention and the Co­founder and Managing Partner of DominateFund, an early­stage venture capital firm. Previously, he was Co-editor and Editor-at-Large of Mashable; he also served as columnist for CNET.

Brina Lee

Brina Lee is the first female engineer at Instagram. Brina majored in Communications at UC San Diego as an undergrad. After joining Facebook full time and going through the onboarding program, she joined Instagram in 2013 as the first female engineer.

Christine Ha

Christine was the the first ever blind contestant and season 3 winner of the competitive amateur cooking television show, “MasterChef” USA, on FOX with Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, and Joe Bastianich. She defeated over 30,000 home cooks across America to secure the coveted MasterChef title, a $250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal. Christine’s first cookbook, Recipes From My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food, was a New York Times best seller. Her latest foray into television is a Canadian cooking show on AMI called “Four Senses”, on which she is a co-host with Carl Heinrich, season 2 winner of “Top Chef” Canada.Christine also has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. During her time there, she served as Fiction Editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts.

David Turley

David "Phreak" Turley is a professional esports commentator and analyst who's turned his 15­year shoutcasting hobby into a career. He is also known for his over­the­top enthusiasm, groan­inducing puns, spontaneous dance moves, and a variety of other memes spawned by the League of Legends community.

Gillie Agmon

Gillie Agmon is an undergraduate bioengineering student and UCSD Regents Scholar representing Engineering World Health, an innovative humanitarian engineering program at UCSD. Gillie’s current research on HIV prevention exemplifies UCSD’s value of pairing groundbreaking academics with global community service. http://giving.ucsd.edu/where/SSL/Gillie-Agmon.html

Jay Srirangam

Jay is currently working as a pharmaceutical science team leader providing strategic leadership for the CMC aspects of Oncology projects from discovery through exploratory development. His previous roles include Process R&D management, Drug Substance Liaison, and Leadership of the Licensing Management teams. Jay is active in developing Industry - academic relationships in Southern California. He represents Pfizer on the Industry Advisory Board for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSD.

Joshua Tetrick

Joshua Tetrick is the CEO/Founder of Hampton Creek, a technology company pioneering in food and selected by Bill Gates as one of three shaping the future of food. It has a mission to bring healthier and affordable food to everyone, everywhere, using the world's untapped plant kingdom. Josh has been interviewed for his work with Hampton Creek by CBS This Morning, Travel Channel, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, amongst others. Josh was named one of Inc. Magazine’s top 35 Under 35 entrepreneurs, as well as one of Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40.

MC Jin

Jin Auyeung, also known as MC Jin, is a hip-hop artist, songwriter, television host and actor. He first garnered national attention in 2002 when he stunned audiences on BET's 106 & Park Freestyle Fridays. His performance earned him a contract with Ruff Ryders (Virgin/EMI), making him the first Asian-American MC to sign to a major record label. Jin's debut album, The Rest Is History, broke into the Billboard 200 and charted at #54.

Michael Sailor

Michael J. Sailor is Professor and Leslie Orgel Scholar in Inorganic Chemistry in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and at the University of California, San Diego. He is also an Affiliate Professor in the Departments of Bioengineering, Nanoengineering, and in the Materials Science and Engineering Program at UCSD. He is an expert in nanophase materials, with emphasis on porous silicon.

Nassim Haramein

Nassim Haramein is a physicist, public speaker, inventor, educator, and the Director of Research at The Resonance Project Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to delivering knowledge and technology to the world which is based on a holistic and complete view of the dynamics and forces of nature, addressing the critical and systemic challenges humanity faces today

Natasha Azevedo

Natasha Azevedo is a third year undergraduate student at UC San Diego studying International Studies and Business. She has spent the last several years traveling and working in over 16 different countries, including an embassy-sponsored diplomatic stay in Finland, an internship with a division of the United Nations in Switzerland and a photojournalist job for a travel company in Iceland. An avid photographer and violinist, Natasha has been published in an eclectic collection of media sources, including Buzzfeed, The Reykjavik Grapevine, the San Diego Reader, and Spirit Magazine.

Richard Somerville

Richard C. J. Somerville, a theoretical meteorologist, is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, where he has been a professor since 1979. He regards climate scientists like himself as "planetary physicians" who can provide the public with factual information and useful advice about human-caused climate change. Dr. Sommerville's talk will address the big question of whether people and governments can muster the needed political will and act decisively, in time to prevent severe climate disruption. http://richardsomerville.com

Ricky Qi

Ricky Qi is a professional filmmaker, photographer and National Geographic Explorer. His work has taken him from the fabled Scottish Highlands to the deep reaches of the Karakoram in Central Asia. He has devoted his life to film, exploring the medium's ability to transfigure an audience's perception of culture, place, and time. His recent work documenting the Moso people of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in Southwest China has earned him the recognition as "Wild China's 2014 Explorer of the Year". http://www.rickyqi.com/

Scott Klemmer

Scott is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Science and Computer Science & Engineering at UC San Diego, where he is a co-founder and co-director of the Design Lab. He previously served as Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford, where he co-directed the HCI Group, held the Bredt Faculty Scholar chair, and was a founding participant in the d.school. He has a dual BA in Art-Semiotics and Computer Science from Brown (with Graphic Design work at RISD), and a PhD in CS from Berkeley.

Sophia Chang

Sophia Chang hails from the borough of Queens, New York. An avid and energized spirit, active in the art & design community. She earned her BFA in Illustration at Parsons School of Design. She works in all mediums of creative matter, from printmaking, apparel, websites, graphic design, illustration, consulting, curation and more.