Born in Cheshire, England and the child of a continent-hopping engineer, Kate Stone was often left to her own devices among some of the world's most disparate cultures. Whether learning to cook rice from Gurkhas or spending time alongside a garageful of car repairmen in Borneo, Stone quickly learned that nontraditional problem-solving was often the very best kind.
At 20, Stone moved to Australia and eventually to the outback, where she was soon herding 22,000 sheep on a 120,000-acre farm. She then returned to England and began her studies in electronics at Salford University, before being recruited to do her PhD work in physics at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, where her focus on moving electrons eventually led to the creation of her groundbreaking company, Novalia.
At Novalia, Stone says: "The work of my team and myself is the realization of my childhood fascinations. We put electronics into paper, and paper is all around us." Stone sees herself as a "creative scientist," blending art and science to create startling fusions of new and old technology. In addition to her work with Novalia, Stone is a member of the Editors Code of Practice committee.
“This is a little different than the mainstage at TED, in a sense that this is a little more relaxed,” says our host, the poet and TED speaker Clint Smith. “These are speakers who have not been selected specifically for the mainstage, but they’re just as talented, just as brilliant, and just as important.” A […]
Continue readingKate Stone’s journey to the TED stage began, of all places, in a London bar. In 2012, TED Curator Chris Anderson and Content Director Kelly Stoetzel embarked on a worldwide talent search, traveling to 14 cities on six continents. In each city, they hosted live events to find amazing speakers, and 34 of them ended […]
Continue readingIn her TED Talk, "I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much," comedian and disability advocate Stella Young explains why "inspiration porn" is such a downer. For Emily McManus, she brought to mind two other TED speakers, and a useful insight.
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