News & Awards

TEDxDU

SECS played a marquee role at the inaugural TEDxDU event in May, 2010 and will do so again at TEDxDU2 scheduled for May 13, 2011.

The campus-wide event brought national attention to the University of Denver around a theme of "A Celebration of DUing."  Modeled after the TED conference, TEDxDU was a fast-paced afternoon of eclectic content, with entrepreneurs, scientists, innovators and activists sharing their personal stories and passion that drives them to action to improve our world.

TED is an annual event where some of the world's leading thinkers are invited to share what they are most passionate about.  "TED" stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design - three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future.  Over the past 25 years, the event has become broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline.  Speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Frank Gehry, Benoit Mandelbrot, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Gates, and Bono.  TED is dedicated to inspiring and promoting "Ideas Worth Sharing."  TEDTalk videos shared online at ted.com have become a new media form, with the world's leading thinkers and doers challenged to give the talk of their lives, in 18 minutes or less. TEDx events are independently organized, under license from the TED organization.  DU is now a leading TEDx event host.

TEDxDU was an ambitious presentation of the ways in which DU's identity as a change agent and action leader is manifested.   It showcased DU's and SECS' commitment to improve the human condition through the lives of our graduates and the work of our faculty, students, and staff.  

In addition to holding a half-day forum focused solely on engineering and computer science during the morning of TEDxDU, SECS has the following keynote presentations highlighted during the afternoon general session:    Neal Foard Highlighting the work of SECS faculty, Neal Foard, a seasoned Madison Avenue guru, gave a presentation around the theme "Cheering for the Wrong Team" which emphasized the idea that society should cheer more for engineers and computer scientists as they bring real value in their ability to "do the math" to address the grand challenges of the day.  The video of Foard's presentation can be seen at:   http://www.du.edu/tedxdu/video/foard.html   Eva Hakansson SECS graduate mechanical engineering student Eva Hakansson gave a presentation called "Power vs. Pollution" in which she rode her homemade, and world-record holding, electric motorcycle onto the stage.  Eva Hakansson shared that she isn't just looking for ways to save the planet-she's looking for environmentally friendly ways to fulfill her need for speed.  The video of Hakansson's presentation can be seen at:  http://www.du.edu/tedxdu/video/hakansson.html