Theme: MASTERY

North Dakota State University is proud to present a unique community event, TEDxNDSU. Join us and discuss what it means to reach mastery on April 24th!

NDSU Memorial Union
120 Memorial Union
Fargo, North Dakota, 58104
United States

Adam Martin

Social Entrepreneur

From boy scout to felon to social entrepreneur. Adam Martin is the epitome of the underdog story. Addiction, alcoholism, homeless, and jail plague his story from the time he was 13 until 30. Today, Adam is a social entrepreneur that started F5 Project that helps felons become successful in communities that don't see the value in all people and fall victim to stigmas that aren't true.

Amanda Brooks

Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences NDSU

Amanda received her B.S. from the University of Utah and her PhD. from the University of Wyoming, where she genetically engineered spider silk to be more elastic and developed protocols for single fiber mechanical testing. She then completed a Postdoc in Bioengineering at UCSD in cartilage tissue engineering, followed by a Postdoc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Bioengineering at University of Utah. She developed a controlled antibiotic releasing bone void filler for total joint replacements. Amanda was then promoted to the Research Assistant Professor at University of Utah after receiving a grant to develop an antithrombotic, anti-infective silk-based catheter coating. Amanda currently serves an Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at NDSU. At NDSU, Amanda has a lively, student-focused research program with students working in the lab from 5 different majors across campus. Though there are different projects in the lab, spider silk is threaded through all of them.

Amanda Smock

Former Olympic Athlete

Amanda attended North Dakota State University. During her time at NDSU, Amanda was an impressive track athlete- specifically as a triple jumper- and was a three-time NCAA Division II champion for the Bison. After graduating from NDSU, Amanda and her husband Greg moved to Minneapolis. Amanda continued to focus on triple-jumping and education. While training for national and global championships, Amanda earned her Master's and PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota. After placing first in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2011, and in the USA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2012, Amanda qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London. She will forever remember what it felt like to walk out with the USA Olympic Team in the Opening Ceremonies, and the thrill of competing in an Olympic arena.

Clayton Hilmert

Psychology Professor and Researcher

Dr. Hilmert is a Chicago native who earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego. He is a professor in the NDSU Department of Psychology and is a health and social psychologist. He introduces many first year college students to psychology, and he trains advanced students to study how stress affects health. His research lab at NDSU is dedicated to examining interactions among the mind, body, and environment as they pertain to health and health-related outcomes. Using scientific, social psychological methods he and his students work to understand who is most susceptible to the effects of stress on health and how these effects can be decreased. By monitoring a person’s physiology and behaviors, thoughts and feelings Dr. Hilmert’s Social Psychophysiology & Health Lab works to better understand how stress impacts health across the lifespan. Lately he has been working with the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) to reduce infant mortality.

Eric Berg

Associate Head of the Department of Animal Sciences at NDSU

Professor Eric Berg obtained two Bachelor of Science degrees (Animal & Range Science and Agriculture Education) from NDSU in 1988, M.S. degree from NDSU in 1991, and PhD from Purdue University in 1996. He the Associate Head at NDSU in the Department of Animal Sciences, where he also serves as the director of the NDSU BBQ Boot Camp program. Dr. Berg’s current research focus involves using swine as a biomedical model for humans to study the role of meat in a healthy diet. In the spring of 2015, Dr. Berg was selected to represent the American Meat Science Association to provide oral testimony to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture during the public comment hearing for the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report.

Frederick Edwards Jr.

Student and Spoken Word Artist

Fred is a motivational, spoken word artist from North Minneapolis. The things he has seen speak through him with the energy he provides. He is passionate about helping others find their inner greatness and potential. He's spoken with hundreds of college, high school, and middle school students and provides testimonies of stories of struggle, and resiliency. With 9 brothers and sisters, Fred is the 10th and last child. His mother had a .0001% chance of becoming pregnant after her 9th child. Fred was that .0001%.

J.J. Gordon

Artistic Director of The LineBenders

J.J. Gordon is an entertainer, education and ice cream enthusiast from Fargo, ND. While attending high school at Fargo South High, J.J. met the love of his life - improvisational comedy. After graduation, he attended Columbia College Chicago and spent time taking classes at comedy institutions such as iO and The Second City. J.J. moved back to Fargo to assume the role of Artistic Director of The LineBenders and has loved every minute of being back home. Active in theatre, you may have seen J.J. on stage in local productions at Theatre B or through the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theater. He also spent several years on television as "The Bad Banker" in a series of commercials for Bell State Bank. J.J. also tours the country as a creative consultant for law enforcement agencies participating in Crisis Intervention Training.

Robby Trefethren

Success Coach

Robby grew up in Fargo, ND and graduated from MSUM with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science in the spring of 2013. While at MSUM, Robby was actively involved in student government and in the Political Science Department. Robby joined Hatch Realty in January of 2014 as an Inside Sales Agent. His goal in this position was to listen well to his clients and to guide them through the process of buying or selling a home. Robby is now the Director of Strategy and Development at Hatch Realty, as well as a Success Coach at Hatch Coaching. He spends his days coaching his team and many other real estate teams throughout North America. Robby is married to Lauren and has two children. When he isn’t coaching or nerding out, you could probably find him wandering with his family, brain session with dear friends, playing video games with his brothers, doing yoga, meditating, or reading a book- or five.

Sayeed Sajal

Assistant Professor in the Department of Math and Computer Science at Minot State University

Originally from Bangladesh, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He then worked at Grameenphone Ltd., a multinational telecom company in Dhaka, Bangladesh for 5 years, during which time he earned a master’s degree in business administration. He earned his Masters and Ph.D. from North Dakota State University in electrical and computer engineering. Currently, he serves as assistant professor in the department of Math and Computer Science at Minot State University. He is not only involved in cutting-edge research and technologies but, also very active in many activities that promote diversity and inclusiveness. His friends, juniors, relatives, and colleagues say that Sayeed has been a tremendous source of inspiration and support. Sayeed describes himself as the father of two delightful children who inspire him to make the world a better place.