Theme: Fueling human existence

TEDxMHK encourage attendees to see the different perspectives that fulfill human’s needs from technology, sustainability, to science. We will bring in a diverse group of outstanding speakers including community leaders, local entrepreneurs, and Kansas State University faculty/students, among others.

Alumni Center - Large banquet room
100 Alumni Ctr
1720 Anderson Ave
Manhattan, Kansas, 66506
United States

David Wagner

President and Curator, David J. Wagner, L.L.C.

David Wagner, Ph.D. is a leading wildlife art author, curator, and lecturer. He organizes and promotes wildlife art exhibitions and educational programs to museums nationwide. With funding from the Robert S. and Grayce B. Kerr Foundation, Wagner expanded his research on to develop the book American Wildlife Art. Wagner previously co-authored Natural Habitat: Contemporary Wildlife Artists of North America (1998).

Dr. Alexei Nikitin

co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Avatekh Inc.

Alexei V Nikitin is a co-founder and the Chief Science Officer of Avatekh Inc. His research interests are in developing methods and tools in nonlinear signal processing for interdisciplinary applications. After receiving his PhD in physics from the University of Kansas in 1998, Dr Nikitin led R&D work at several startup companies specializing in applications in communications, power electronics, navigation, geophysical sciences, neurology, and biometrics.

Dr. Chuck Rice

Kansas State University Department of Agronomy, University Distinguished Professor

Dr. Chuck Rice is a University Distinguished Professor of Soil Microbiology at Kansas State University. He conducted long-term research on soil organic matter, nitrogen transformations and microbial ecology. His recent research has focused on soil and global climate change in agricultural and grassland ecosystems. Dr. Rice served in numerous capacities with the Soil Science Society of America, to include President in 2011. He served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Air Quality Task Force for 6 years. He served on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to author a report on Climate Change in 2007 and 2014, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the International Tropical Agriculture Research Center based in Cali Colombia. He also serves on the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and became chair of the Board in January 2016 for a 3 year term.

Dr. Ian Connole

K-State Athletics’ Director of Sport Psychology

Ian Connole serves as the Director of Sport Psychology with the Kansas State University Athletic Department where he provides comprehensive mental training services with K-State student-athletes, coaches and teams to help them pursue excellence on and off the playing fields. He is also a Team Member of Vision Pursue™, a consulting company dedicated to improving mindsets and performance through training and technology. A former student-athlete himself, Ian is a Certified Consultant through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and a member of the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology and Mental Training Registry. His research, practice and life are centered on helping people optimize their performance and love life along the way.

Dr. Jerry Jaax

Associate Vice President for Research Compliance and University Veterinarian

Jerry Jaax is the Associate Vice President for Research Compliance and University Veterinarian at Kansas State University, where he has been PI on several high profile federal projects dealing with bioterrorism and agroterrorism. He served for 26 years in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps with significant experience in programs associated with Medical Defense against Chemical and Biological Agents, biological arms control, and biological weapons counter-proliferation. While assigned to USAMRIID at Ft Detrick, he was a key participant in the Reston Ebola virus outbreak, in Reston VA – described in the #1 NY Times bestseller, “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston, and inspiring the movie “Outbreak.” He has published and lectured nationally on bioterrorism, agroterrorism, emerging infectious disease and emergency response, and research compliance.

Dr. Michael Wesch

Kansas State University Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, Associate Professor, Coffman Chair for Distinguished Teaching Scholars

Michael Wesch was dubbed “the prophet of an education revolution” by the Kansas City Star and “the explainer” by Wired Magazine, Wesch is a recipient of the “US Professor of the Year” Award from the Carnegie Foundation. His videos on culture, technology, education and information have been viewed over 20 million times, translated in over 20 languages, and are frequently featured at international film festivals and major academic conferences worldwide. His research on the effects of social media and digital technology on global society and education concludes that they don’t automatically foster significant learning or establish genuine empathy or meaningful bonds between professors and students. Using social media is but one of the many possible ways to connect, but the message that Wesch’s experimentation brings is that only genuine connections may restore the sense of joy and curiosity that we hope to instill in our students.

Greg Peterson

Kansas State University Agricultural Communications 2013 Graduate, Farmer

Greg Peterson is a 2013 graduate of Kansas State University where he majored in Agricultural Communications and Journalism. He grew up and still works on a family farm near Assaria, KS with his parents, 2 brothers, and sister. He has always enjoyed working on the farm and being an advocate for agriculture. In June of 2012, Greg and his brothers released a video on YouTube entitled, "I'm Farming and I Grow It." It quickly went viral, receiving over 9 million views. Since then Greg and his brothers have released many more parody videos and are now up to 37 million total views on YouTube. The videos have given Greg and his brothers many opportunities around the country and the world to talk about agriculture and he is passionate about the future of the industry.

Jordan Thomas

Senior in Anthropology, Marshall Scholar

Jordan Thomas, Anthropology major, is interested in analyzing the social effects of food systems and exploring the potential of urban food systems. He investigated correlations between language, ritual and agriculture in the Taos Pueblo Native American community, New Mexico. He helped a nonprofit build an urban farm in the inner city - reflection of this effort, “A Seed to Save the World,” was published in Popular Resistance magazine. He conducted research on gardening in a retirement community, co-creating a documentary, “To Live in This World,” which he presented at an international film festival in France and published in the Journal of Video Ethnography. In 2014, he undertook a bicycle journey from Kansas to South America. He is a Marshall Scholar, receiving full funding for postgraduate study at Cambridge, England.