TEDxUofM

Rebecca Coulborn

Transforming International Aid HIV in Africa. Rebecca Coulborn served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso between 2000 and 2001 before being medically separated. She went on to assist the ACLU in successfully challenging a discriminatory policy upheld by the Peace Corps which prevented her from ever completing her service. Rebecca has since devoted [ … ]

Detroit Treads

Transforming Detroit Design. Sustain. Recycle. Detroit Treads is a group of University of Michigan students working on a project to make flip-flops from recycled rubber tries normally left to waste in Detroit. The group consists of Mr. Tian Lian, Mr. Kirk Goodman and Ms. Julia Tan. Detroit Treads is a prime example of the importance [ … ]

Joe Trumpey

Transforming Sustainable Practice Personal Initiative and Sustainability Dr. Trumpey is a tremendous advocate for environmental conscientiousness and sustainable practices. He is a Professor in the School of Art & Design, as well as the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Dr. Trumpey takes common ideas of sustainability and implements them in his everyday live [ … ]

Filmic Productions

Transforming Film Innovators of Filmmaking Filmic Productions is a group of undergraduate students rethinking the traditional concept of visual media in the modern digital age. The group consists of Stephanie Hamel, Josh Buoy, Rodney Hyduk, Steve Coffey, Christina Bender, Chris Duncan, Emily Lyon, and Joe Kasper. They believe that cinema is everywhere and are challenging [ … ]

Ryan Krasnoo

Transforming Words Inspiring. Vocal. Poetic. University of Michigan student and Slam Poetry expert Ryan Krasnoo inspires all that he meets with his captivating voice and even further captivating pictures that he paints in the mind of audience members with his illustrative visuals painted by handcrafted poems. Also a broadcaster of sports at the University of [ … ]

Trevor Weltman

Transforming Solitude Value of Meditation Trevor Weltman is an undergraduate in Asian Studies. A fluent speaker of Mandarin and a student of Hindi, he has traveled and lived extensively in China and India. Most importantly, Trevor is a certified meditation instructor who—in line with his teacher’s belief that spirituality be made available to all those [ … ]

Julie Bateman and Ethan Shirley

Transforming Brazil Community Stability Initiatives Julie and Ethan have the future of our world as a whole in mind. Bateman, a Senior, and Shirley, a Graduate of the University of Michigan, built a school together which is set to open in May. The project was one of great collaboration with all areas of intellect: engineers, [ … ]

Jim Toy

Transforming Societal Paradigms Challenging Our Paradigms Mr. Toy is a pioneer in LGBT activism and education, having been a part of the Lesbian-Gay Male Programs Office at the University of Michigan for 23 years. He holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Michigan and is today a member of the [ … ]

James Reeves

Transforming Our Communities James A. Reeves is a writer, educator, and designer. He’s a partner at New Orlean’s Civic Center, a creative studio dedicated to making cities more comfortable. He’s driven 75,000 miles along the backroads of America which inspired his first book, The Road to Somewhere: An American Memoir. He attended the University of Michigan to [ … ]

Jacob Bourjaily

Transforming the Universe Theoretical Physicist Dr. Bourjaily has spent his academic career researching the use of analyticity to understand quantum field theory as well as string and particle phenomenology. He received Bachelor’s from the University of Michigan in 2005, he has since recently completed his PhD from Princeton University and is now a Junior Fellow [ … ]

Susan Dorr Goold

Transforming Public Health Deliberation, Simulation, Prioritization Dr. Goold is a health system researcher that uses unique methods to simultaneously educate the public and give the medical establishment a novel perspective on healthcare. She is a practicing physician and Professor of Internal Medicine and Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Goold is [ … ]

Sharon Glotzer

Transforming Nanoscience When Shape Matters Dr. Glotzer is a nanoscientist reexamining the notion of shape and its role in generating new materials. She is a Professor in the Departments of Material Science, Chemical Engineering, and Physics at the University of Michigan. She looks at molecular shape and form at a new level, opening doors to [ … ]

Ralph Williams

Transforming Literature Master of Literature Dr. Williams is an esteemed scholar of literature and an unmatched educator. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of English, Language, and Literature and recipient of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Golden Apple Award. Dr. Williams’ knowledge and passion transform the way his students think about literature and language. [ … ]

Jeff McCabe

Transforming Local Eats Community. Local. Cuisine. Mr. McCabe is a proponent of consumption of locally grown foods and is pioneering new methods of farming. He earned a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and has now created “Repasts, Present & Future” to support local nonprofits working in food production and education. [ … ]

Libby Ashton

Transforming Education Redesigning K-12 Education Education has often been a problem sought to be solved by experienced policymakers (and unfortunately often to no avail). This is not the case with the University’s Philosophy student Libby Ashton. Ms. Ashton is the Founder and President of rEDesign, a grassroots initiative to bring equal opportunities to the students [ … ]

Vienna Teng

Transforming Sound Musical Virtuoso Folk, chamber-pop, singer, songwriter, master musician. These are a just a few words that describe the very talented and achieved Vienna Teng, a professional pianist who is currently obtaining a MBA and MS through the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

Tatiana Hofmans

Transforming Creativity Art as Revolution Ms. Hofmans is a leader of F.O.K.U.S, a student organization advocating acceptance and free expression of all forms of individuality. She is studying Mandarin Chinese and International Studies in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Ms. Hofmans advocates the importance of creativity and its role in creating change [ … ]

Jim Bagian

Transforming Universal Communication Engineer, Physician, Astronaut Dr. Bagian is a truly interdisciplinary individual, as he has worked as a process and mechanical engineer, earned a medical degree, and was selected as a NASA astronaut. He now serves as the Director of the Center for Health Engineering in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of [ … ]

Elias Schewel

Transforming Justice Occupy Your Field Inspired by issues of sustainability in today’s developing “technocracy,” this University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning Student spent his last summer as a part of a tree sit in West Virginia. He is one to take action towards all things just. We are honored to have [ … ]

Marvin Ammori

Marvin Ammori is an internationally recognized lawyer whose expertise is in Internet and media law, freedom of speech, and cybersecurity law.

Paul Courant

Paul Courant is the University Librarian and Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan. He leads the digitization project of Michigan’s library.

Ann Marie Sastry

Ann Marie Sastry is a Professor of Mechanical, Biomedical, and Material Science Engineering.

Thomas Zurbuchen

Thomas Zurbuchen is a Professor in Space Science and Aerospace Engineering and is also one of the entrepreneurial leaders on campus.

Donia Jarrar

Donia Jarrar is a Masters student in musical composition who used social media to play a part in the Egyptian revolution.

Kathleen Sienko

Kathleen Sienko is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering. The focus of her work is on designing and deploying medical devices in developing nations. Sienko created a low-cost, safe, easy-to-use, and culturally appropriate male circumcision tool to aid in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Monica Ponce de Leon

Monica Ponce de Leon is Dean of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, a position she assumed in 2008. Ponce de Leon is a Venezuela-born architect and founding principal with Nader Tehrani of Office dA, Inc. in Boston. Ponce de Leon previously was a professor of architecture and [ … ]

Scott Page

Scott Page is a Professor of Complex Systems, Political Science, and Economics at the University of Michigan, where he is the associate director of the Center for the Study of Complex Systems.

Jared Genser

University of Michigan Law School 2001, Jared Genser is a human rights lawyer and World Economic Forum Young Leader. His clients have included former Czech Republic President Václav Havel, former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, and Liu Xiaobo.

Jameson Toole

Jameson Toole – University of Michigan 2010, Jameson Toole is a PhD in MIT’s Engineering Systems Division with the support of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. His research focuses on using large behavioral data sets generated from the web (Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc.), cell phones, or any other means, to find emergent patterns [ … ]

Robert Bartlett

Robert Bartlett is a Professor Emeritus of Surgery. In the realm of medicine, there are few doctors who possess as much gravity and world renown as Dr. Bartlett. He has had the greatest impact as a result of his work on developing the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, or ECMO for short.

AJ Holmes, Ali Gordon, and Carlos Valdes

This trio of musical theater majors collaborated to create the first student created and University sponsored musical, Gibson Fleck in a short four months-a task that takes most years to do. “We were young, optimistic, and down right stupid enough to try…”

Chris Van Allsburg

University of Michigan Art & Design 1971, Chris Van Allsburg is a sculptor, author, and illustrator. He twice won the Caldecott Medal, for Jumanji and The Polar Express, both of which he wrote and illustrated, and both of which were later adapted into successful motion pictures.

Mawuli Gyakobo

Mawuli Gyakobo is one of the University’s current African Presidential Scholars. Dr. Gyakobo (School of Public Health, University of Ghana) specializes in the study of chronic diseases, with a regional emphasis on rural Ghana.

Madeline Huberth

Madeline Huberth is a joint LSA/Interdisciplinary Physics and School of Music/Cello Performance major. Huberth has been selected as a member of the YouTube Orchestra, which chose amateur musicians from all over the world to perform at the Sydney Opera House in March 2011. She is currently writing her Honors Senior Thesis on the impact of [ … ]

Parag Patil

Parag Patil is a neurosurgeon in the University of Michigan Health System. He is one of the few neurosurgeons in the country with an engineering background. He was awarded a Marshall Scholarship to study Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University in the UK.

Mason Proper

Mason Proper is a band based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One of the songs performed was written for TEDxUofM and debuted on the day of.

Subaram Raman

Subaram Raman is a first year masters student at the University of Michigan, currently studying under Michael Daugherty. He formerly studied under Paul Chihara and Roger Bourland at the University of California at Los Angeles.

John Hart

John Hart is an MIT alum who teaches courses in design and manufacturing. His research involves carbon nanotube structures that are found, among other places, on the edges of samurai swords. His Mechanical Engineering has stood him in good stead, preparing him for the interdisciplinarity of nanotech research.

Anca Trandafirescu

Anca Trandafirescu is an Assistant Professor in Architecture at the University of Michigan where she teaches in design theory and representation. In 2003, she established area.architecture with Glenn Wilcox. The practice explores the breadth of design issues through competitions, commissioned projects, furniture, and design/build work.

Steve Rush

Stephen Rush is a Professor of Dance and Performing Technology at the University of Michigan where he has been teaching classes in music composition, music theory, and jazz for over 23 years.

Jim Burnstein

Jim Burnstein is one of the few working Hollywood screenwriters living in Michigan. His works include Renaissance Man and D3: The Mighty Ducks. Burnstein heads the Screenwriting Program at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, in the Department of Screen Arts & Culture.

Thomas Pavone

Thomas Pavone is a James B. Angell Scholar at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. His current work involves the study of Western European politics and comparative political theory. Recent projects have included an analysis of how corruption is contributing to Italian immigrants.

Udae Sandhu

Udae is a freshman LS&A undecided major with a passion for entrepreneurship, yet his still set revolves around the humanities. Sandhu believes the lucky few that take their unique skill set and directly apply it to their passions in life will find happiness abound.

John Holland

John Holland is an American scientist and Professor of Psychology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan where he researches and teaches on the study of cognitive processes and complex adaptive systems in general, using mathematical models and computer simulation.

Moses Lee & Nick Tobier

In his current research and teaching, Tobier focuses on the integration of art and society, and actively challenges artists to expand their self-definitions and scope. Currently, Tobier is running hte Social Venture Creation course in collaboration with Moses Lee.

Kiko Dontchev

Kiko Dontchev is a 2nd year masters student in Space Systems Engineering at the University of Michigan. Following graduation, he will be joining the team at SpaceX as an Avionics engineer.

Sam Valenti IV

Sam Valenti IV is the founder of Ghostly International, home to two of America’s finest independent record labels, Ghostly International and Spectral Sound. The Michigan based company has carefully built a reputation for artistic quality and innovation since its inception in 1999.

Matt Shlian

Matt Shlian teaches Two Dimensional Foundations and Paper Engineering at the University of Michigan and works as a visiting research scholar at the University’s Material Science Department. He is currently working with researches to utilize paper engineering as a way to understand the flexible nature of nano-structures.

Daniel Ferris

Daniel Ferris is an Associate Dean for Research, Associate Professor in Movement Science and Biomedical Engineering and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan.