Are you as excited as we are? Only a few more weeks until TEDxVienna 2021!
This year’s in-person event full of UNTOLD ideas will bring together a group of 18 expert thinkers and doers across a wide range of fields to share UNTOLD ideas. From global academics to scientists, artists, and activists, get ready for a full day of immersive discussions and ideas that will leave you speechless.
As promised, this is the second out of three articles that we will publish weekly to introduce the speaker lineup of this year’s event. Keep in mind that the order in which the speakers are being presented is random, and the exact schedule for the event will remain UNTOLD until the event.
1. Josh aka “Ordinary Things Guy”
It has never been easier to call people to collective action, whether it is to manipulate a major company’s stock price or to investigate a downed flight. Youtuber “Ordinary Things Guy” is at our event this year to present Cybernetics as a field of study that presents new opportunities, as well as dangers and absurdities.
About “Ordinary Things Guy”
Josh is an English Youtuber creating educational videos under the name “Ordinary Things Guy”. In his videos, he likes to talk about the history of companies, food, fashion, and other “ordinary” things.
2. Nicholas Leeper
What do cancer and a heart disease have in common? According to Nicholas Leeper’s research, they share more than we have formerly thought. Our speaker will explain more about these curious findings, which might even lead to new therapies that could potentially treat both conditions.
About Nicholas Leeper
Dr. Nicholas Leeper is a professor, chief of vascular medicine and director of vascular research at Stanford University. His clinical focus is on vascular medicine and cardiovascular disease. He also leads a research laboratory, examining the genetic determinants of cardiovascular disease and studying atherosclerosis, vessel inflammation, smooth muscle cell physiology and aneurysm formation.
3. Naomi Jacobs
Imagine going to sleep one night as a 32-year old single mother and waking up the next morning thinking you are a 15-year old school girl. What seems like the plot of a movie is what actually happened to Naomi Jacobs. Join us to hear her extraordinary story and how she was able to piece together her missing years.
About Naomi Jacobs
Naomi Jacobs is an author and teacher of Psychology and Mental Health and Well-being, who currently lives in the United Kingdom. She is a strong advocate for therapeutic mediation and wishes to inspire people to talk and write of their own experiences.
4. Sally McNamara
This next speaker has a very unique hobby: Sally McNamara collects and researches other people’s diaries. With having read over 10.000 vintage diaries, she was able to get a glimpse into the intimate lives of the ones who have gone before. At this year’s TEDxVienna event, Sally will show us how she started her collection, what they have taught her, and she will even share a few of the remarkable true stories she has read over the years.
About Sally McNamara
Sally began writing her own diary at the age of 10 and was given her great-grandmother’s, which dates back to 1931 and sparked her love and passion for other people’s diaries. Her collection spans from 1792 to the early 21st century. Many of the diaries from Sally’s collection are now at major colleges and universities, museums, and on rare occasions back with their original families.
5. Irati Alonso Calafell
Quantum technology is one of the most exciting and challenging scientific fields of the last decades. Irati Alonso Calafell and her team are proposing a new architecture for quantum computers with logic gates made out of graphene. At our event, she will tell us more about how their research might speed up the creation of quantum computers, which in turn could improve our lives.
About Irati Alonso Calafell
Irati Alonso Calafell was born in San Sebastian, Spain, where she grew up and went to school. She started her studies in physics in Bilbao, carried out her bachelor’s thesis in Helsinki, earned her Master’s degree in Berlin, and finished her Ph.D. in Vienna. Today, she is a technical project manager at IMS Nanofabrication.
6. Christie Watson
As a former nurse, Christie Watson has experienced both moments of love but also those filled with a great deal of sadness. She has collected these encounters along the way and will tell us about how an act of kindness can speak louder than words as a speaker at the TEDxVienna 2021 event.
About Christie Watson
Christie Watson is a British writer and Professor of Medical and Health Humanities living in the United Kingdom. She is known for her international bestseller “The Language of Kindness”, which was published in 2018. Her book was translated into 23 languages and adapted for theatre.
Curious to know more about the rest of the speakers? We will reveal one more article next week, in which we will introduce six more speakers of our speaker lineup. If you haven’t purchased your ticket for TEDxVienna 2021, you can do so here.
Please keep in mind that in order to attend the event, you will need to be vaccinated or recovered and provide a negative PCR test no older than 48 hours to enter the venue. More info on Covid-19 safety terms can be found here.