Innovative and effective approaches for improving disaster relief efforts worldwide.

Michael McDaniel designed housing for disaster relief zones -- inexpensive, easy to transport, even beautiful – but found that no one was willing to build it. Persistent and obsessed, he decided to go it alone. At TEDxAustin, McDaniel show us his Exo Reaction Housing Solution, and asks us to prepare for the next natural disaster.

The disastrous earthquake in Haiti taught humanitarian groups an unexpected lesson: the power of mobile devices to coordinate, inform and guide relief efforts. At TEDxRC2, Paul Conneally shows extraordinary examples of social media and other technologies becoming central to humanitarian aid.

After fighting overseas, 92 percent of American veterans say they want to continue their service. Meanwhile, one after another, natural disasters continue to wreak havoc worldwide. What do these two challenges have in common? In telling the story of his friend Clay Hunt, Jake Wood from Team Rubicon reveals how veterans can contribute to disaster...

Pursuing her PhD in atmospheric science did not prepare Morgan O'Neill for a freak tornado hitting her hometown. With her sister, she helped coordinate a local relief effort and is teaching other towns to do the same through the website Recovers.org.

Most people look at cardboard tubes and see something fit for the recycling bin. But architect Shigeru Ban turns them into beautiful buildings.

When a freak tornado hit her Massachusetts hometown, Caitria O’Neill wasn't an expert in disaster relief recovery. But she learned quickly and is now passing her knowledge on through the website Recovers.org.

Michael McDaniel is a graphic designer using his skills to help people in meaningful ways.

Director of the New America Foundation Energy Policy Initiative, Lisa Margonelli writes about the global culture and economy of energy.

Robin Murphy researches robots -- ground, aerial and marine -- that can help out during disasters.

Dr. Irwin Redlener spends his days imagining the worst: He studies how humanity might survive natural or human-made disasters of unthinkable severity. He's been an outspoken critic of half-formed government recovery plans (especially after Katrina).

Holly Morris tells the stories of women around the world through documentary, television, print and the web.

Inveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach.

Jake Wood runs Team Rubicon, a nationwide nonprofit that provides military veterans with the opportunity to continue their service by responding to natural disasters and global crises.

Edwidge Danticat’s novels and short stories are fast becoming iconic representations of the immigrant experience -- and what it means to be Haitian-American.

Stephen Petranek untangles emerging technologies to predict which will become fixtures of our future lives -- and which could potentially save them.

With cutting-edge nanotech, Michael Pritchard's Lifesaver water-purification bottle could revolutionize water-delivery systems in disaster-stricken areas around the globe.

A microscope that costs less than $1. A post-natal incubator for $25. These TED Talks highlight exciting innovations that render formerly-expensive things affordable — whether it’s to save you money, or to save lives.

The Vicar of St David's Church, Exeter, in the UK, is unafraid to take on some of religion's tougher issues.

These talks honor those who have fought for their country while shedding light on what coming home from war means for many whose wounds are more than skin-deep.

Aala El-Khani explores the needs of families affected by war and displacement and develops resources that support the mental health of children and their caregivers to promote current and future wellbeing.

Cell phones, while small, are mighty. From loans to a life-saving crisis line, learn all about the ways our phones (smart, or otherwise) are paving pathways to a brighter, more accessible future.

Convoy of Hope is an organization that helps people who have been impacted by disaster. They are on a mission to bring help and hope to communities that need it most through strategic planning and community collaboration.

Team Rubicon’s latest mission is called Operation: Greased Lightning. What does that mean, you ask? In this powerful talk, given at TEDxSanDiego in 2011, Jake Wood shares his experience co-founding Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization that uses veterans to do the difficult work of search and rescue, supply disbursement and debris cl...

Nina Westbrook is a wife, mother, entrepreneur and marriage and family therapist.

Shameem Akhtar is a teacher working to empower girls in Sindh, a province in the southeast of Pakistan.

Andreas Raptopoulos and his colleagues at Matternet are attempting to create a network of drones that operate like the internet, only for tangible objects. This company -- which sprung out of an idea surfaced at Singularity University in 2011 -- aims to deliver items wherever they are needed, even if no usable roads go there. In his TED T...

Sister Norma Pimentel is a sister with the Missionaries of Jesus and a licensed professional counselor.

An extraordinary group-curated TEDx event is coming together around the tragic events in Japan in the past month: TEDxEarthquake9.0. From the site: A comprehensive journey from Japan's resilience and history of overcoming past disaster to the challenges the nation faces today -- passing by the actual response and relief efforts in the fi...