Theme: Bridging Gaps

Through this event, we want to discuss the meaning of the theme ‘bridging gaps’ through interdisciplinary lens. No idea or action in our world is ever completely disconnected from each other. In our world, all ideas or actions, even seemingly irrelevant ones, are always connected to each other. We believe that often enough, our development as society is hindered by the perception of gaps between sciences and arts, the rich and the poor, the local and the global, the present and the future, etc. It is our goal to use this TEDxLehighU 2015 event as a platform to explore and discuss how much of this perception is real, and find ways to bridge the gaps for a greater synergy.

The free general admissions tickets can be purchased at the following eventbrite page starting 12:00pm on Wednesday, Oct. 14: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tedxlehighu-2015-tickets-19004454836

**First 30 people to sign up will receive a free tshirt!

Packard Laboratory Room 101
27 Memorial Dr W
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 18015
United States

Budi Waluyo

Doctoral Student

Budi Waluyo is the recipient of two prestigious international scholarships: Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program for M.A. at the University of Manchester, UK and Fulbright Presidential Scholarship for Ph.D. at Lehigh University, USA. He has given seminars and workshops in various places and universities in Indonesia and has written some books and articles with regard to winning scholarships. He has been working for 4 years on inspiring and helping Indonesians to win degree scholarships studying overseas, especially for those who live in disadvantaged conditions. One of the initiatives that he has made is the “Sekolah TOEFL” program, an online free TOEFL course delivered through Blog, WhatsApp, and Facebook. More than 7000 Indonesians from different regions have registered since May 2015. In this talk, he intends to argue how degree scholarship programs extends gaps in educational opportunities within society and how his program can eliminate these gaps

Calvin D. Sun

Emergency Physician and Entrepreneur

CALVIN D. SUN, MD is an Emergency Medicine resident physician, civil rights activist, dancer, and entrepreneur based in NYC. Graduating from Columbia University and SUNY Downstate College of Medicine as Vice President and as President of his classes respectively, Dr. Sun in the past was also a host on MTVu’s hit show “The Freshmen" for 4 years, an award winning documentary filmmaker, President Emeritus of the Columbia College Young Alumni, and the longest serving Director on ECAASU — the oldest and largest Asian American organization in the country. Calvin currently works as a emergency resident physician for 3 of the busiest ERs & Trauma Centers in the country and is the Founder & CEO of The Monsoon Diaries: a blog-turned-travel company where he has personally taken hundreds of readers to 80+ countries in the past 4 years including places like North Korea, Chernobyl, and Antarctica. The Monsoon Diaries has been featured on National Geographic, USA Today and Rachel Maddow.

Clayton Barber

Technology Consulting & Client Services, Undergraduate Student

Clayton Barber is a senior in the Integrated Business and Engineering program at Lehigh University. His focus is in Computer Science and Engineering. Clayton was born in Boston and raised in Great Falls Virginia. He has studied abroad in Germany and studied French at Lehigh. Clayton is a Head Gryphon on campus and is also involved in Tutoring, The University Committee on Discipline as well as WIRED. He is headed to work at Ernst and Young as a Technology Consultant after he graduates this year. His experiences in the workplace and at school led him to the question of emotional gaps, and their relevance to communication. He hopes his TEDx presentation will call attention to emotion as a tool for communication and encourage the exploration of the concept around campus and in the workplace.

Detrick McGriff

Principal, Broughal Middle School

Dr. McGriff is the proud principal of Broughal Middle School located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  An educational career that spans over 20 years, contains a diversity of experiences demonstrating what works well in public education.  Nova Southeastern University, provided Dr. McGriff a national paradigm on educational leadership.  He also takes great pride in graduating from two esteemed local universities, West Chester and Temple, which allowed him to attain a BS in Biology; additionally receiving masters degrees in education along with curriculum & instruction respectively.  Tireless work at Broughal, a community school model, compliments his passion to serve children on the Southside Bethlehem.  He embraces discussions on technology, diversity and equity; and inspires educators and communities to set the trajectory for student learning and success.

Jessica Liu

Doctoral Student

Jessica Liu is a first year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology department at Lehigh University. As a second generation Taiwanese/Chinese-American born and raised in Southern California, she has been immersed in a community rich with diversity. She has witnessed the dynamics between different cultures, including its strengths and difficulties. These first hand experiences have inspired her to pursue her goal of becoming a psychologist, researcher, and advocate for issues within diverse and underserved communities. In this role, Jessica wants to support individuals in their respective cultural contexts in a competent and respectful manner with a clear focus on understanding universal human experiences. Jessica’s TEDx presentation will focus on the importance of bridging cultural gaps.

Joshua Pepper

Assistant Professor

Joshua Pepper is an assistant professor in the Lehigh University physics department. He earned his bachelor's degree from Princeton University, and his PhD from the Ohio State University. Before coming to Lehigh, Pepper was a postdoctoral fellow and a research assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. His research focuses on the discovery and observation of extrasolar planets along with binary stars and variable stars.

Karen Konkoly

Undergraduate Student

Karen Konkoly is a junior at Lehigh pursuing majors in English and psychology and a minor in business (for employability purposes). Karen’s interest in lucid dreaming started when she heard about it in the fourth grade and kept trying to lie in bed all day and thinking her mind would transcend her body. This summer Karen attended an 8-day Lucid Dreaming and Awakening Retreat with Stephen LaBerge and was afterwards trained as a research apprentice at Brown University’s sleep lab. Karen is currently working on her Eckardt Scholars’ senior project on the narrative structure of lucid dreaming. After graduation, Karen hopes to continue dream research and become a professor.

Steve Boerner

President, Hatch House Ventures, LLC

Steve Boerner is the President of Hatch House Ventures, a network of live-work startup incubators for young entrepreneurs providing a wealth of resources to tomorrow's generation of job creators. Steve is a motivational speaker; passionate about sharing his story and learned lessons with the world.