Theme: Memory of the World

TEDxNorthernIllinoisUniversity is a local, independently organized event at Northern Illinois University whose goal is to foster and promote the propagation of new ideas through notable speakers. As the re-creation of the unique experience demonstrated at TED, innovative thinkers and world leaders come together to share their own passions and beliefs about topics that can move the world. With our theme „Memory of the World“ in mind, our conference is to unify such speakers, thinkers and teachers who take on this opportunity to inspire you.

Cole Hall
1425 W Lincoln Hwy
DeKalb, Illinois, 60115
United States

David Bourne

David Alan Bourne was hired as one of the original founding members of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University that was started in 1979 after his Ph.D. work at the University of Pennsylvania in Computer Science. David is currently a Principal Scientist there and has been researching: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Manufacturing, Robotics and Medicine, and Robotics and Education. David is the director of the Rapid Manufacturing Lab at Carnegie Mellon; which has built a large Flexible Manufacturing Cell for Westinghouse, the Intelligent Machining Workstation for the U.S. Air Force, and the Intelligent Bending Workstation for Amada (the largest sheet metal machine tool company). In addition, David has written over 80 papers in areas applying Artificial Intelligence to Manufacturing and holds nine patents in related areas. He also co-authored the book Manufacturing Intelligence published by Addison Wesley.

Giuliano Zuccato

What would be the likelihood that someone with an 8th grade education coming from a farming community in Italy would migrate to the USA and be part of the team that created the original Mustang, and be able to present his ideas to the chairman of Ford Motor Company? Well, it happened! Giuliano Zuccato, was born in a river town near Venice in Italy, a town surrounded by the beauty of the alps and the sea, a farming community, filled with many artisans. His ancestors were wood workers, and mill building was their specialty.The name Zuccato can be traced to the time of the Venetian Republic. They were prominent mosaicists of the 14th century that corroborated with the famous painter Titian. Giuliano retired from Ford Motor Company in 1988, presently owns and operates Concepts International, a company dedicated to product development. Sculpting is one of his passions that he enjoys in his spare time.

Lesley Rigg

Lesley Rigg (B.A at York University, Canada, M.A. at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Ph.D. University of Melbourne) is currently the Interim Vice President for Research. Since her area of research interest is Biogeography she is also cross appointed in the Department of Biological Sciences. A keen interest in women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) has developed through her position as a Faculty Associate in Women's Studies for which she has taught a course on women in science. As a University Administrator she stresses the importance of maintaining an active research program including a primary interest, within Geography, involving the population and regeneration dynamics of native tree species. Current projects include; population dynamics in the boreal forest/deciduous forest ecotone in Lake Superior (Ontario, Canada) and the status of vegetation degradation in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana.

Ralph Strozza

Succès, successo, éxito. However you say it, it means success...and Ralph Strozza can translate it. After receiving his bachelor's degree in Marketing and French (with a minor in Spanish) from NIU in 1981, Strozza began a journey that would lead him to where he is today— owning and managing one of the leading and most reputable corporations in the foreign language translation industry. A dedicated alumnus, Strozza gives of his time, talent, and resources to students both inside and outside the classroom. Through the donation of translation software, he created an unparalleled opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to receive valuable classroom training in Trados, a state-of-the art translation system used worldwide by professional translation companies and large multinational corporations, and is considered the standard for the translation industry.

Ravi Allada

Ravi Allada, MD, is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurobiology, Professor in the Department of Pathology, and Associate Director for the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology at Northwestern University. Dr. Allada received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and completed his residency in clinical pathology from Brigham and Women's Hospital. During medical school, he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health Research Scholar and worked on the molecular genetics of general anesthesia using the fruit fly Drosophila as a model system. He received an HHMI Physician Postdoctoral Fellowship with Michael Rosbash at Brandeis University where he cloned the Drosophila Clock gene, a master transcription factor for circadian (~24 hour) clocks. In 2000, he joined the faculty at Northwestern University. His laboratory has identified and characterized novel components of the core circadian clock.

Robert Brathwaite

Robert Brathwaite holds the position of assistant professor of political science with a specialization in international relations at Northern Illinois University. He graduated Cum Laude with a BA in both political science and history from UCLA and received his Ph.D. and MA in political science from the University of Notre Dame. Before receiving his Ph.D. from Notre Dame, he also spent time in Washington, D.C., where he served as a research intern for the Center for Security Policy. His dissertation research examined the dynamics associated with secession with the specific focus of identifying the factors most likely to lead to recognition of seceding territories who violently challenge their parent-state. His work in this regard has concentrated on defining the role that great power politics and norms of democracy have on the likelihood that a seceding territory will be recognized as a new state actor in the international system.

William Klein

Dr. Klein's research team is working on new ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's, a disease now costing the US $200 billion annually -- and likely $1 trillion annually by 2050. The team's strategies are based on their discovery of a potent neurotoxin that builds up in brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients. Dr. Klein is Professor of Neurobiology in Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and is a member of the university's Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center. He formerly was director of the Northwestern University interdepartmental program in neuroscience (NUIN). Before coming to Northwestern, Dr. Klein trained with Nobel Prize Winners Paul Boyer (at UCLA) and Marshall Nirenberg (at NIH). He is co-founder of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, a biotech licensed by Northwestern to develop antibodies against Abeta oligomers for Alzheimer's therapeutics. Dr. Klein is winner of the Zenith Award from the Alzheimer's Association.