2019 Annual Conference
February 23rd, 2019

Thank You For Coming!

In 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft took a picture of Earth from 6 billion kilometers away. Our entire world appeared as a small, barely visible blue pixel. This photo alludes to how all of our experiences - from triumphs to failures, agreements to conflicts, connections to divisions - are virtually nothing in the realm of the universe. Renowned astronomer Carl Sagan coined the term “Pale Blue Dot” in response to this image - “Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.“

The sight puts into perspective how each of our stories is just one of billions unfolding each day all around the planet. With every passing minute, new goals are reached, records are broken, and ideas are sprouted. Each of us journey through this world, forging our own unique path, slowly understanding the universe around us.

This year, we will zoom out and explore the bigger picture, because each individual story is surrounded by countless others waiting to be heard. What can we learn from this large dose of perspective? No matter how alone we might feel in our endeavours, there exists a world of incredibly different experiences out there so vast that we cannot possibly fathom it all.



Event Details

Who?

Students of Rutgers
This event is open to any idea seeking person on or near Rutgers University campuses.

What?

Impactful Speakers
We will be showcasing a series of talented and creative minds from all over the country.

Where?

LSC Auditorium
TEDxRutgers will be happening in the Livingston Student Center Auditorium on Livingston Campus.

When?

February 23rd, 2019 @ 11am
We will be unveiling on February 23rd, 2019 at 11:00am.
Hope to see you there!

Meet the Team behind the magic

Meet the talented speakers

...

Ronald Quincy

Professor of Practice

Dr. Quincy is a Professor at the School of Planning & Public Policy, Co-Academic Director, Collaborative Center for Community-Based Research & Service, Faculty Director, Honors South Africa Study Abroad Program and Academic Director, Mandela Washington Fellowship Civic Leadership Institute (an initiative of former President Obama). His former positions include: Cabinet member for two Michigan governors, Associate Vice President of Harvard University, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. President Reagan also appointed Dr. Quincy to a White House Fellowship, where he served as a Foreign Policy Advisor in the State Department and Special Assistant to the Secretary of HUD. His professional development & personal mentors included Mrs. Coretta Scott King and the Honorable Nelson Mandela.

...

Yana Bromberg

Professor of Bioinformatics

Dr. Yana Bromberg’s research focuses on deciphering the DNA “blueprints” of life’s molecular machinery. She develops novel bioinformatics techniques to find out where this machinery comes from and why/how it runs. The answers to these basic questions are important for improving our health/quality of life, preserving our environment, and, well... did we really start as green slime?! Dr. Bromberg received her degrees from SUNY Stony Brook and Columbia University. Her work has been recognized by private and federal agencies, including NASA and NIH. She received an NSF CAREER award and is also a Fellow of the Munich Institute for Advanced Study. Her findings consistently indicate that our world functions via dependencies and interactions at all scales.

...

Palak Patel

Chef, Advocate, TV personality, Immigrant

Palak is a chef, an immigrant who was born and raised in India where she lived with her 15 person extended big fat Indian family under one roof. All meals were a production at her house, it’s also where she learned the names of spices just like you'd learn the alphabet. She played helper to her mom, aunts and grandmas who taught her how to cook. This was her earliest lesson on community and a strong culture around food. She believes if we are going to change behavior around eating healthy, we have to start looking at adopting these practices in our daily lives. We should commit to cooking and eating together.

...

Mason Ameri

Professor of Management Studies

Dr. Mason Ameri is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Business School who specializes in managing diversity, specifically the equal employment opportunity of people with disabilities. He is recognized for applied research about disability as it relates to employment, the sharing economy and public accommodations, unionization, and civic engagement. Dr. Ameri’s work has been featured in more than 120 media outlets, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and PBS. At Rutgers Business School, he teaches in the areas of management skills, organizational behavior, human resource management, and negotiations.

...

Nandini Ramani

Chief Operating Officer - Outcome Health

Nandini Ramani has been the Chief Operating Officer of Outcome Health since December 2017 and before that she served as its Chief Engineering Officer. Prior to joining Outcome Health, Ramani was the Vice President of Engineering at Twitter, the most senior female role at the company. She also previously led the $320 million Java business unit for Oracle.

Meet our Student Speakers

...

Brooke Getter

Student at Rutgers University

Brooke was destined to be bound by the confines of the extremely insular ultra Orthodox Jewish community. When one of her parents left this technologically deprived society, allowing her to become a computer engineering major, she contradicted her upbringing and left the box she was put in at birth. Now, as a college student trying to explore freedom of choice, she struggles with the notion that there should be a “right box” for her to fit in, when in reality she is someone who moves between the boxes.

...

Alex Louie

Student at Rutgers University

Alexander Louie is an undergraduate student at Rutgers University, where he is studying Computer Science and Business Administration. Outside of learning about technology and pursuing his many passions, Alex is interested in understanding how the norms of today’s society influence our perception of happiness and more importantly, how our subconscious derives the coveted feeling of joy. His experiences with stage 4 cancer inspired him to redefine his perception of happiness, to develop the idea of ‘conscious gratitude’, and hopefully to uncover what it takes to be truly content and grateful, even in the darkest of times.

A few words about TEDx

What is TEDx?

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxRutgers, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxRutgers event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.


About TEDxRutgers

On February 23, 2019 TEDxRutgers is bringing together world-leading thinkers, makers, and doers at Rutgers University to discuss doing the unprecedented. The audience will be composed of a diverse yet curated mix of students, professors, and thought leaders from Rutgers and beyond, for a stimulating day of presentations, discussions, entertainment and art that will spark new ideas and opportunities for all.




About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast event in nearby Whistler. The annual TEDGlobal conference will be held this October in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED.




Frequently Asked Questions

Who can attend?

The conference is open to any idea seeking person!

Can I attend if I am not Rutgers affiliated?

Of course! Just make sure to purchase a guest ticket.

I have a ticket, but can't attend anymore :( What should I do?

Please cancel your ticket on Eventbrite to allow for those on waitlist to purchase them.

It says that tickets are sold out. Is there any way for me to get a ticket?

If you are a Rutgers Student, please sign up for the waitlist on Eventbrite and we will release more tickets as they become available!

Where can I park?

Attendees can park Livingston Campus in Lots 105, Yellow and Green. Map available here.
If you will be driving, you must register your vehicle with Rutgers here.

How can I nominate someone (or myself) to speak?

Unfortunately, we've filled all of our spots for this year's conference. However, feel free to submit a nomination for our 2020 conference at tedxrutgers.com/nominate!


We'd love to hear from you!

tedxrutgers@gmail.com

If you have any questions, please email us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

TEDxRutgers 2017