Mary Lou Jepsen pushes the edges of what's possible in optics and physics, to make new types of devices, leading teams and working with huge factories that can ship vast volumes of these strange, new things.

Kristen Ashburn's photographs bring us face-to-face with real people in desperate circumstances. Taking us to the intimate spaces of her subjects -- the victims of war, disaster, epidemic -- she elicits the sublime sadness and resolve of human beings in suffering.

Christien Meindertsma uses art (and craft) to expose the hidden processes and connections of our modern life.

A pioneer in the field of neuroeconomics, Paul Zak is uncovering how the hormone oxytocin promotes trust, and proving that love is good for business.

Knut Haanaes believes that the secret to creating lasting, impactful companies is to find a balance between doing what you're good at and looking for new challenges to take on.

Inspired by Mister Rogers, Sara DeWitt strives to make every child feel special by charting the forefront of new digital mediums where kids spend their time.

Giada Gerboni works in surgical robotics, supporting surgeons with new flexible robotic devices in order to make once impossible operations a reality.

In his work in applied mathematics, Steven Strogatz studies the way math and biology intersect.

Most people fear and loathe monopolies because they dominate their categories or markets and squeeze out competition. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the threat they hold, warns technology analyst Jamie Bartlett. The threat that tech monopolies pose to democracies is about more than the prices they charge: it’s the concentration of po...

Daniel Goldstein studies how we make decisions about our financial selves -- both now and in the future,

On March 6, TED welcomed its latest class to the TED Residency program. As an in-house incubator for breakthrough ideas, Residents spend four months in the TED office with other exceptional people from all over the map. Each has a project that promises to make a significant contribution to the world, across several different fields. The new R...

Rob Hopkins is the founder of the Transition movement, a radically hopeful and community-driven approach to creating societies independent of fossil fuel.

Benoit Mandelbrot's work led the world to a deeper understanding of fractals, a broad and powerful tool in the study of roughness, both in nature and in humanity's works.

On September 12, TED welcomed its latest class to the TED Residency program, an in-house incubator for breakthrough ideas. These 21 Residents will spend 14 weeks in TED’s New York headquarters working and thinking together. The class includes exceptional people from all over the map — from Bulgaria to South Africa, Canada to Kansas. New R...

Gretchen Carlson is a tireless advocate for workplace equality and women's empowerment.

Liz Fosslien uses behavioral science to make work better.

The TED Fellows program is excited to announce the new group of TED2018 Fellows and Senior Fellows. Representing a wide range of disciplines and countries -- including, for the first time in the program, Syria, Thailand and Ukraine -- this year's TED Fellows are rising stars in their fields, each with a bold, original approach to address...

With Architizer, an online hub for architecture, Marc Kushner is breaking architecture out of its insular echo chamber and reconnecting the public with buildings.

Looking for something great to read, stream or watch this fall? Here are 18 picks that are worthy of your precious time, from ace curator and TEDWomen editorial director Pat Mitchell. Pat Mitchell loves a good story. In fact, her career as a journalist, producer and broadcast executive has been built on her unerring ability to spot the best one...

Writer, artist and designer, theorist and community builder, Howard Rheingold is one of the driving minds behind our net-enabled, open, collaborative life.

As a journalist reporting on China, Sheryl WuDunn saw the everyday oppression of women around the world. She and Nick Kristof wrote "Half the Sky," chronicling women's stories of horror and, especially, hope.

Steven Cowley directs the UK's leading fusion research center. Soon he'll helm new experiments that may make cheap fusion energy real on a commercial scale.

Inventor Saul Griffith looks for elegant ways to make real things, from low-cost eyeglasses to a kite that tows boats. His latest projects include open-source inventions and elegant new ways to generate power.

Everyone likes to talk about their victories. But what about the hurdles they overcame to achieve them? Below, 11 TED Fellows open up. When we see CEOs, founders, influencers and other people highlighted in our daily scrolls on our devices, the individuals almost always look polished. They’re poised and confident, and they most surely achieve...

Larry Burns is the vice president of R&D for GM. His job? Find a new way to power cars.

An entrepreneur since childhood, Cameron Herold wants parents and teachers to recognize -- and foster -- entrepreneurial talent in kids.

Matt Russo is an astrophysicist and musician who translates the rhythm and harmony of the cosmos into music and sound.

The seven speakers lived up to the two words in the title of the session. Their talks showcased both our collective insanity -- the algorithmically-assembled extremes of the Internet -- and our humanity -- the values and desires that extremists astutely tap into -- along with some speakers combining the two into a glorious salad. Let's dig i...

Father-daughter beatboxing duo Nicole Paris and Ed Cage mix beats across generations.

Three sessions of memorable TED Talks covering life, death and the future of humanity made the penultimate day of TED2018 a remarkable space for tech breakthroughs and dispatches from the edges of culture. Here are some of the themes we heard echoing through the opening day, as well as some highlights from around the conference venue in Vanco...