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).

300 W First Street
E.H. Hereford University Center Rosebud Theatre
Arlington, Texas, 76010
United States

Abu Yilla

Dr. Yilla received his master’s and doctorate degrees from the Texas Woman’s University, and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Nottingham, England and the University of Texas at Arlington. His research focus is the explication of the lives of individuals with disabilities, elite disability sport, and in particular, wheelchair basketball. He is a Paralympic medalist, coached national and international championships in wheelchair rugby and has won 19 national championships in wheelchair basketball (8 in Great Britain as a player; 6 as a player, and 5 as an administrator in the USA).

Amit Kudtarkar

Amit Kudtarkar is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate at UTA. He grew up in Plano and started at UTA in 2012 quickly falling in love with UTA Racing. After 2 years of racing, in 2014 Amit had the once in a lifetime opportunity to work closely with the library in the creation of the new FabLab at UTA.

Bhavik Patel

Bhavik is a senior majoring in Politcal Science. His interest is in the cross-section of law and public policy. He is the President of the Moot Court Team, a Student Congress Senator, a Toastmaster, and a Wrangler with an iconic giant foam cowboy hat. He strives to speak in a manner thats easy to understand but also informative.

Colleen Fitzgerald

Rapid globalization and technology that brings majority world languages into minority language homes threatens the survival of the estimated 6,000 to 7,000 languages worldwide. Whether in Africa, Australia, the United States or beyond, tiny languages are endangered, with their survival often depending on the last elderly speakers. Europe's endangered Irish language is a great story of a language reviving its prospects, but success stories of languages renewed and reclaimed abound, such as the Wampanoag language, spoken by the tribe reputed to have celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims. The human spirit craves a connection to ancestors and the past, and heritage languages do just that, while breathing new life into the future.

John Jordan

John Jordan seeks to create the first ever glass electric cello, glass and wood blended together harmoniously to make melodies, this is is the focus of my Bachelor of fine arts exhibition and the culmination of my undergraduate Career. I would like to talk about the journey of making of the glass electric cello and how glass and music coexist, and end my talk by playing a piece I wrote on the cello about the cello.

Michael Varner

Dr. Varner has been Director of Percussion at the University of Texas at Arlington for 34 years. He holds a degree in Music Education from Bowling Green State University, a Master’s in Performance from The University of Michigan, and a Doctorate in Performance from The University of North Texas. With a long history as an educator he has given presentations Internationally. He draws from 40 years experience performing repertoire to the highest standards. In 2014 he released his latest CD “reVelations” featuring his own compositions. Excerpts from Dr. Varner's performances can be seen on Youtube. His interest in world music led to a sabbatical in Nigeria and “Study-Abroad” classes to Ghana. His article “Skin That Speaks” was published in the 2013 Percussive Notes Journal. He teaches all percussion and world music courses at UT Arlington. He has presented Percussion clinics in every state, Europe, and Japan and has over 20 commissioned compositions published internationally.

Seehum Isa

Daughter of Nash and graciela isa. Her mother is from Mexico and father from Palestine. One older sister who just graduated from university of Texas at El Paso. She was Born here in Arlington but grew up in Orlando, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, and El Paso, Texas. A member of freshmen leaders on campus, students for justice of Palestine, leadership honors program, and film and video organization here at UTA.

Seokjin Jeong

Seokjin Jeong is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at University of Texas Arlington. Dr. Jeong's research interests include school bullying, cyber deviant behaviors and evaluation of juvenile justice prevention/intervention.

Wasiu Lawal

Wasiu is currently a Ph.D. student in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department where he’s working on the development of treatment processes for the removal of persistent organic contaminants in water using nano particles. Though he was born in the U.S., he lived in Nigeria for over 20 years before returning 9 years ago. He is currently the President of the Graduate Student Senate and is also active in a number of organizations off campus including the American Chemical Society. Wasiu currently lives in Arlington Texas with his wife and is a big fan of the Arsenal soccer team and the Houston Texans.

Ya'ke Smith

Ya’Ke Smith, known for his unflinching and veracious style of storytelling, is a rising voice in independent cinema. His films have received world-wide acclaim, screening and winning awards at over 80 film festivals. His short, Katrina’s Son, screened at over 40-film festivals and won 14 awards. The film was also eligible for the 2012 Academy Award in short filmmaking. His debut feature, WOLF, which NPR called “an impressive piece by a young director,” premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and has gone on to screen and win awards at festivals across North America. The film is now available for download via several Video-on-Demand outlets. Ya’Ke graduated with his B.A. from the Communication Arts Department at the University of The Incarnate Word and his M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin’s film program. He is currently the Morgan Woodward Distinguished Professor of Film at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Zdzislay Musielak

Dr. Zdzislaw E. Musielak is currently Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). He received his PhD degree in Physics from the University of Gdansk in Poland. Before joining the UTA faculty, he worked at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, M.I.T., NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). He is the recipient of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Prize and additional Humboldt Follow-up Research Awards. His research has focused on extra-solar planetary systems, the origin of dark matter and dark energy, black holes and formulation of fundamental theories of physics.