In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Akron Art Museum
1 S High St
Akron, Ohio, 44308
United States

Bor-Kai (Bill) Hsiung

Bill (from Taiwan) is a certified Biomimicry Specialist (Biomimicry 3.8) and a Biomimicry Fellow in the Integrated Bioscience program here at The University of Akron sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. In his talk, he will walk us through a journey of the research that he is doing in the university labs and its connection with Biomimicry. Bill is researching structural colors in spiders. Structural color is the production of color by microscopically structured surfaces, rather than pigments; it has immense potential for biomimetic applications.

Derek Miller

Derek Miller is originally from Marion, Iowa. Being raised on taking apart computers, drawing in sketchbooks, and all-day adventures wandering the woods next to his childhood home has led him to appreciate both the arts and the sciences. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Biology from the University of Northern Iowa, where he worked in a turtle research lab and took care of turtles, snakes, and alligators. Derek became strongly influenced by the inspiration from nature. It was this interdisciplinary approach that inspired Derek to pursue the field of Biomimicry at the University of Akron, where he hopes to use art and design as a way to reveal the genius of the natural world. His undergraduate experience as a designer and a biologist has shaped his thinking about how biology has influenced and continues to influence designers throughout time and across disciplines, and gives his perspective as a designer about the field of biomimicry.