Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

TEDxUF focuses on breakthroughs in art, science

<p>Rob Castellucci, co-founder of RoomSync and founder of the Gator Salsa Club, proposes to his girlfriend after the end of his talk at TEDxUF on Saturday. “I would go on for a thousand more reasons, but I’m pretty sure my 18 minutes is almost up,” Castellucci said. “Will you marry me?”</p>

Rob Castellucci, co-founder of RoomSync and founder of the Gator Salsa Club, proposes to his girlfriend after the end of his talk at TEDxUF on Saturday. “I would go on for a thousand more reasons, but I’m pretty sure my 18 minutes is almost up,” Castellucci said. “Will you marry me?”

It was a packed house. 

Red “TEDx” letters sat on the stage of the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday morning as about 1,000 participants moved their Trader Joe’s gift bags aside and took their seats. 

“Without further adieu, let’s break through,” said Sean Treiser, MC and event co-curator, alluding to this year’s theme.

The sixth annual TEDxUF — the largest of its kind in the Southeast — featured eight local speakers ranging from a salsa dancer to a computer scientist.

TEDx events are based on TED conferences but independently organized by members in the community. The event is the brainchild of the UF Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and is run by students in the UF TEDxUF club, said Erin Meisenzahl-Peace, director of public relations and design for the conference.

This year’s theme focused on breaking through.

“Either how they break through some problem in their life or a breakthrough they had in science,” Meisenzahl-Peace said.

The conference also featured interactive labs showcasing innovative solar panels and 3-D printing, among other projects.

The speaker series began with Jill Sonke, director of the UF Center for Arts in Medicine. 

During her talk, a photo of a hospital bed flashed behind her.

She asked the audience to imagine being admitted to that room and having an artist in residence walk in. With a guitar strung across his shoulder, a musician sauntered on stage and began singing “Moon River.” 

“Art changes us,” Sonke said. “Medicine can do extraordinary things today. And with the arts, it can do more.” 

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox

Lauren Troffer, a 22-year-old UF microbiology senior, said she enjoyed Sonke’s talk the most. 

“It was really interesting, especially how art can help heal people better than medicine can,” Troffer said.

Vivian Filer spoke about breaking out of her sidewalks, a metaphor she used to illustrate the racial segregation she faced growing up in Gainesville.

She said during her talk that she would hear her mother’s voice in her head: “Learn to stay in your place.”

“Until one day, I didn’t hear my mother’s voice so clearly,” Filer said, and her role in the women’s and civil rights movements began.

Other speakers included Michael Morris, academic director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Mac Stone, a conservation photographer; Juan Gilbert, a computer scientist and researcher; Chris Hass, an associate professor in the UF Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology and Ann Christiano, a UF public relations professor.

Although spanning diverse subjects, each talk gave its audience a glimpse of what it’s like to break through.

TEDxUF Lab

A 3-D printer from UF's A² Fab Lab is showcased at the TEDxUF Lab on Saturday. A TEDxUF tradition, the lab featured interactive stations such as a self reflection board and a moving solar panel.

[A version of this story ran on page 1 - 4 on 3/23/2015 under the headline “TEDxUF focuses on breakthroughs in art, science”]

 

Rob Castellucci, co-founder of RoomSync and founder of the Gator Salsa Club, proposes to his girlfriend after the end of his talk at TEDxUF on Saturday. “I would go on for a thousand more reasons, but I’m pretty sure my 18 minutes is almost up,” Castellucci said. “Will you marry me?”

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.