Theme: Reignite

Reigniting is a spark, a catalytic chain reaction that incites new ideas and curiosity and potential. Reigniting enlivens, invigorates, inspires. Reigniting connects people through ideas. TEDxHuntsville 2012 will feature big data, rocket science, psychology, beer brewing, UAVs, startup culture and stories by people who have reignited their lives by following their dreams.

Randolph's Thurber Arts Center
4915 Garth Road Southeast
Huntsville, Alabama, 35802
United States

Daniel Crosby

Educated at Brigham Young and Emory Universities, Dr. Daniel Crosby is President of IncBlot Organizational Psychology, a consultancy whose vision is to “flood the Earth with skills for living and leading.” Dr. Crosby has been featured in the Huffington Post, Registered Rep, Risk Management Magazine and regularly contributes thought leadership for Monster, CareerBuilder and Glassdoor. He was recently chosen by Monster.com as one of the 12 thinkers to watch in the world of leadership and organiza- tional development. He is currently writing a book entitled,“You’re Not That Great: A Motivational Speech” based on his popular TEDx talk of the same title.

Rob Adams

Dr. Adams has post-graduate degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has 20 years experience conducting advanced propulsion research and leading teams designing aerospace vehicles at organizations such as McDonnell-Douglas, Boeing, NASA – Marshall, and other local organizations. Dr. Adams recently founded MindGear Labs, LLC, a rapid prototyping lab for do-it-yourselfers in the greater Huntsville area. Dr. Adams believes everyone should have the opportunity to create something wondrous using their minds and their hands.

Ashley Capps

A passion for music and performance led Ashley Capps to begin promoting concerts independently in the late 1970s, while still a student at The University of Tennessee. Now recognized as one of the foremost independent promoters in the United States, Mr. Capps and his company, AC Entertainment, founded in 1991, create, produce, book, and present hundreds of concerts and events every year. In 2002, Capps founded the acclaimed Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN, cited by Rolling Stone as one of the “50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll.”

Jason Cassibry

Dr. Jason Cassibry is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville. Prior to this he worked as an assistant research professor following graduation from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. His research involves the experimental and theoretical application of fluid mechanics, magnetohydrodynamics, and thermodynamics in the study of plasmas with application to plasma acceleration, implosions, in-space propulsion and fusion energy science.

Paul DeJoe

Paul DeJoe is the CEO of Ecquire, a service that adds a day back to your week. He served as the Entrepreneur in Residence at Fairbridge Venture Partners, is a mentor to the Thiel Fellowship, was a former European Professional Hockey Player and has been featured in Forbes, Business Insider and Pando Daily for his answer on Quora to “What it’s like to be the CEO of a Startup”. Paul was placed on the Earth for one reason: To have Huntsville, Alabama be recognized as,“The City That Saved The World”.

Jon Gosier

Jon Gosier is a software developer, writer, designer and technologist working at the intersection of data science and global development. He is the Founder and Chief Operations Officer at MetaLayer, which makes software products for data analysis and visualization. MetaLayer’s mission is to make the world’s information easier to understand, visualize, and share. In 2012 MetaLayer won the Audience Choice Award for best Startup at O’Reilly’s Strata Conference. Jon Gosier is the Founder of Appfrica. He currently serves as the Director of Advocacy, helping to raise awareness about the many issues related to financing early stage African entrepreneurs. He started Appfrica in 2008 while living in Kampala, Uganda, where the need for vehicles that supported local talent and became apparent. He is currently working on a documentary film about Africa’s growing creative and technology entrepreneurs called The Cheetah Code.

Cynthis Langford

Cynthia Lankford is a long-time resident of Huntsville, AL. She received her formal education at Oakwood University receiving her Bachelors in Psychology. She has worked as an executive administrator for over 20 years. Cynthia is active in the community by serving on different committees and volunteering time. Her passion for writing began at age 14 and since then she has become an accomplished writer and poet, writing over 300 poems and inspirational writings. She is the founder of Baggage Claim support group and member of ArtNSoul. Her five year ambition is to establish a counseling firm assisting individuals with life transitions.

Darlisia Lyles

Darlisia Grant Lyles is a native of Birmingham, Alabama and now resides in Madison, Alabama. She is the wife of Brian M. Lyles, Interim Assistant Band Director and Music Arranger for the Alabama A&M Marching Maroon & White Band, and the mother of 3 year old, Cadence Lyles. She is a graduate of Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, Alabama and an alumnus of Alabama A&M University where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education with a concentration in Band and Orchestra. She is currently the Assistant Band Director at Huntsville High School and Professor of Strings at Alabama A&M University. Darlisia has a strong passion for playing the violin. She is classically trained and started her violin journey at the age of 9. Darlisia has played in the Alabama Youth Symphony, Alabama All State Orchestra, Birmingham All City Orchestra, the Alabama A&M University String Ensemble, and is currently working on her career as a R&B/Hip Hop electric violinist.

Tasia Malakasis

Tasia Malakasis is owner and president of Belle Chevre, an award-winning cheese producer located in Elkmont, Alabama, and author of the cookbook Tasia’s Table. Tasia’s passion for food was borne from the kitchens of her southern grandmother, whose love was shown, felt and tasted from the riches of a big pot of chicken ‘n dumplins. She learned early that food was love. Later in life, when as a teenager Tasia visited her father in Greece during the summers, she learned that there the bounty of the table was just as rich and deeply in how families and friends shared love. Being rooted deeply in the Southern and the Greek cultures formed a magical link to food and the allure of the table that Tasia could not shake.

Sameer Singhal

Sameer Singhal is a Director in CFDRC’s Biomedical and Energy Technology Division. He received his B.S. from Georgia Tech and M.S. from Stanford University both in Materials Science and Engineering. He spent seven years at a semiconductor startup called Nitronex Corporation where he helped develop an early stage technology through to product sales. In his current role at CFDRC he manages the technical development and commercialization for a portfolio of biomedical and energy technologies. Mr. Singhal has over 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. Additionally he has six issued patents and eight patents pending.

Lisa Williams

Lisa Williams was born in Saigon, Viet Nam on the 4th of July. At the age of three, she contracted polio, a crippling and poten- tially deadly disease while living in Viet Nam. She came to the United States at the age of six thru the bravery of an American soldier. Lisa’s passion has always been for the soldier and the United States. She founded 3D Research Corporation in order to provide engineering services to support our brave soldiers. Lisa was named the 2004 Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Alabama. She also made the list of the Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs of America as well as, the 2004 Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce’s Executive of the Year. The Schafer Corporation acquired 3D Research in 2005.

Jeff Zentner

Jeff Zentner is a musician from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released five albums and is a founding member of the Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project, paying tribute to the late frontman of the 1980s cult blues-punk band, The Gun Club. He volunteers as a guitar instructor and technician at the Tennessee Teen Rock Camp and Southern Girls Rock Camp. He is also an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee. He graduated from Vanderbilt Law School, where he was a managing editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.

Makers Local 256

Do you like to Tinker? Does your concept of “Hacking” reach beyond just software? You might be part of a burgeoning movement of Makers. Part gear-head, inventor, techie, and artist with a dash of mad scientist. Makers tend to like to get their hands dirty and fabricate projects rather than shelling out the big bucks for the store bought equivalent. We resent being engineered out of the design process. We thrive on figuring out how things work and piecing together disparate technologies into something new … making it our own.