Five UA Faculty Members Will Share Their Big Ideas at TEDxTucson Conference

Five UA Faculty Members Will Share Their Big Ideas at TEDxTucson Conference

By Amanda BallardUniversity Communications
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UA faculty members will present five of seven total presentations at TEDxTucson's "From Chuk Shon to Tucson" conference on Dec. 6.
UA faculty members will present five of seven total presentations at TEDxTucson's "From Chuk Shon to Tucson" conference on Dec. 6.

Five UA faculty members will discuss a variety of hot topics, ranging from the science of mind-body connections to the impacts of big data, during the fourth annual TEDxTucson conference, "From Chuk Shon to Tucson."

TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, is a global set of nonprofit conferences with the mission to share "ideas worth spreading." The TEDx program is designed to give organizations and individuals the opportunity to share their thoughts on a variety of topics through locally organized events.

"From Chuk Shon to Tucson" will take place on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., and will feature local artists, performers, presenters and TED videos.

Lewis Humphreys, software and IT licensing manager and Eller College of Management embed for Tech Transfer Arizona, said the event is a chance for community members to share their big ideas.

"This is like a mini version of the TED Global Conference," he said. "The unique thing about this is it's Tucson's way of sharing its TED ideas with the rest of the TED community."

Humphreys founded the local conference in 2009. Since then, he's worked to identify presenters whose big ideas have important and influential impacts on the future.

"Our mission is to inspire people," Humphreys said. "We want people to feel they've had an experience unlike anything else."

There's a story behind the unique name of the TEDxTucson conference.

"The Tohono O'odham originally called Tucson 'Chuk Shon'," Humphreys said. "When the Spanish conquistadors came, they translated 'Chuk Shon' in different ways and it eventually became Tucson. I really like having a talk that creates the sense of where we are and what makes Tucson special."

UA faculty members will present five of the conference's seven total presentations, all of which cover topics that Humphreys said "will really impact our society in different ways."

The UA presenters include:

  • Dr. David Armstrong, professor of surgery and director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance, will present "A Visit to the Human App Store: How Tech is Changing What Makes Us … Us."
  • Dr. Allan Hamilton, professor of neurosurgery, radiation oncology, psychology, and electrical and computer engineering, will present "Prescribing Hope: Changing Outcomes with Optimism."
  • Dr. Esther Sternberg, professor of medicine and research director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, will present "Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being."
  • Christopher Cokinos, associate professor of nonfiction/environmental writing, will present "Heresy is Hope: Martha's Flight into the Future."
  • Sudha Ram, professor of management information systems and entrepreneurship and innovation at the Eller College of Management, will present "Creating a Smarter World with Big Data."

General admission tickets are $21 and are available at the Rialto Theatre box office or online by clicking here. For more information about this event and all the presentations, visit the TEDxTucson website.

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