Theme: Chain Reaction

Call it a ripple, butterfly, snowball, or domino effect. We call it a chain reaction. It’s what happens when a person’s single idea -- big or small -- sparks another, culminating in an avalanche of innovation. What if the first step wasn’t taken or one simple idea wasn’t vocalized? Can you imagine where we would or could be? At TEDxLSU 2017, we’ll explore ideas and actions that have sparked chain reactions in our community, and we ask you: What’s stopping you from creating a chain reaction?

Join us for TEDxLSU 2017 on March 11 in the LSU Union Theater. Reserve your seat today: www.tedxlsu.com

LSU Union Theater
310 LSU Student Union
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70893
United States

Ahsennur Soysal

LSU graduate student

LSU graduate student Ahsennur Soysal is tracking foxes in Baton Rouge, and her preferred tools are social media and trail cameras. The LSU environmental science student created a social media campaign that asks Baton Rouge residents to post sightings of the elusive animals around town onto Facebook at Fox Finders of Baton Rouge, or on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #findfoxlsu.The citizen science project is paving the way for scientists to leverage contemporary forms of public media in the service of data collection and public scholarship. The native of Turkey and longtime Baton Rouge resident hopes her research can help educate the general public about the mysterious animals, which Ahsennur argues are often incorrectly portrayed as dangerous nuisances in popular culture. Ahsennur’s innovative work, with the help of her camera-wielding neighbors, is slowly uncovering the impact foxes have on both our natural and built environments.

Chancelier "Xero" Skidmore

Executive Director of Forward Arts Inc. and International Slam Poetry Champion

As a child of the hip-hop generation, Chancelier “Xero” Skidmore grew up rhyming and freestyling, earning a reputation on the playground. As an adult, Xero has made his mark in the Baton Rouge arts community through his award-winning slam poetry performances. He’s earned international recognition for his work, taking home first place in the 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam, a 4-day festival that attracts some of the best performance artists around the world. But his love for language extends well beyond his own performances. Xero is the Executive Director of Forward Arts Inc., a nonprofit working to introduce poetry and other art forms into the lives of children while also teaching them powerful life skills. When he’s not inspiring youth with poetry, Xero enjoys playing music. A former trombonist, Xero plays percussion with local groups the Michael Foster Project, Soul Jukeboxxx and Universal Language. Spending his days as a slam poet, musician and teaching artist, Xero fosters creative communication in Baton Rouge for the next wave of innovators.

Chris Dykes

CEO of Clear Blue Design and founder of Freebird

When Chris Dykes had his – as he likes to call it – “three-eighths life crisis,” he knew it was time to take a leap of faith in his own ideas and make the transition to full-time entrepreneur. So in 2014, the Louisiana State University alum left his job as Chief Information Officer of the state Department of Health and Hospitals to focus solely on his business, Clear Blue Design, which provides data solutions to streamline processes, automate manual tasks and bring consistency to his clients’ business information. Within the company, Chris has started a passion project called Freebird. Freebird is an app that allows users to anonymously share their ideas, which he hopes will help suppressed, ideas emerge and solve problems both big and small.

Cynthia Peterson

biochemist and Dean of the LSU College of Science

For Dr. Cynthia Peterson, science is like a fine jazz composition. A lifelong piano player, Cynthia applies her love of music to her passion for biochemistry. Her research focuses on determining the size, shape and networks of interactions among proteins that orchestrate health during wound responses like blood clotting, or in inflammation that occurs in cancer and other diseases. She believes uncovering the dynamics of proteins will provide clues to turning them on or off when they are out of balance. For Cynthia, these complex scientific puzzles – and their creative solutions – are not unlike jazz’s key elements of composition. Cynthia, who in 2014 became the first woman to serve as dean of the LSU College of Science, explored her thoughts about the connections between music and science after attending a summer jazz workshop at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York. She is passionate about science communication and showing others how science is active and creative, much like the music she admires and enjoys.

Gabriela González

physicist and researcher with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO)

If Albert Einstein were alive today, he’d probably be booking a trip to Louisiana. That’s because LSU professor, international award-winner and National Academy of Sciences member Dr. Gaby González is helping unravel one of the longest-running mysteries in astronomy. A native of Argentina and a graduate of Syracuse University, Gaby has worked in LSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration (LIGO) in Livingston, Louisiana, since 2001. In 2015, LIGO detectors reported the very first recorded gravitational wave, a ripple in the fabric of space and time resulting from the collision of two black holes. This discovery proved Albert Einstein’s century-old prediction about the existence of gravitational waves. Gravitational waves present us with a new way of looking at the universe, and Gaby, along with the other researchers at LIGO, received the “2016 Breakthrough of the Year” award from Science magazine. In 2016 Gaby was named Scientist of the Year by Great Minds in STEM and in 2017, Gaby received the National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery.

Howard Hall

comedian

When it comes to comedy, Howard Hall has the formula down. A Baton Rouge native and graphic designer, Howard has been applying his expertise in design to performing stand-up comedy for 14 years. He started organizing and performing comedy shows in the dorm rooms of McNeese State University and worked his way up to a feature on Jamie Foxx’s festival series Laffapalooza. In 2013, Howard released his first comedy special, “Hallarious,” filmed at BREC’s Independence Park Theatre, and you can catch him regularly on the air via Baton Rouge’s MAX 94.1 radio station. When Howard’s not at the mic he spends time coaching other people who are. As a comedy series writer and comic mentor, Howard applies his knowledge of the ins and outs of comedy to further the comedic cause in multiple genres, for multiple audiences.

Jay Ducote

chef, speaker, writer, entertainer and hugger

Jay Ducote is a chef, speaker, writer, entertainer and hugger from Baton Rouge. Jay’s passion for flavor has its roots in LSU tailgating, and after working as a high school math teacher, baseball coach and policy researcher, the LSU Political Science graduate decided to pursue his taste for the epicurean full-time. His interests lead him through multimedia and cross-country excursions ranging from his award-winning Bite and Booze radio show, the blog that started it, and numerous television appearances showcasing his culinary zeal. He’s appeared on Cutthroat Kitchen, Eat St., Last Call Food Brawl and was a finalist on season 11 of Food Network Star. Most recently, Jay’s joined forces with Cafeciteaux Coffee Roasters, combining his academic training with his culinary passion. The goal: provide high-quality coffee and effective sustainable farming education.

Lauren Pharr

forensic anthropologist

Every animal has its enthusiast. For the turkey vulture, it’s Dr. Lauren Pharr. Originally from Tennessee, Lauren uses her Ph.D. from LSU’s Department of Geography and Anthropology to research and promote the role of vultures in forensic science. Through cross-disciplinary research in forensic anthropology and geographic information systems, Lauren has shown that deeper study of vulture scavenging can lead to faster and more accurate work in identifying human remains. Lauren’s work has led her across the country to help law enforcement professionals and researchers at the Texas State Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, the Smithsonian Ornithology Laboratory, and the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Whether it’s helping local law enforcement solve missing persons cases or assisting in data collection and research at national labs, Lauren proves that this often misunderstood species offers more than a cliché about vultures circling.

Naci Mocan

LSU economics professor

Dr. Naci Mocan's research demonstrates that every decision, including whether or not to commit crime, how many cigarettes to smoke, how much effort to spend on the job, can be tied to economics. An LSU Professor, Dr. Mocan and has often focused his attention on the behavior of individuals. His passion for illuminating the economic determinants of everyday decisions leads him toward research on subjects like the economics of crime, corruption and vengeance. Dr. Mocan’s research pushes boundaries of research and examines the inner workings of our world through the lens of an economist. His work has gained him international attention, with coverage in various media outlets across the globe. He earned his Ph.D. in economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His recent work has focused on the interplay between economic behavior and culture.

Quiana Lynell

vocalists, songwriter, teacher and storyteller

Vocalist, songwriter, teacher and storyteller Quiana Lynell's career is a testament to her belief in the positive and unifying power of music, combined with a hearty dose of diligence and preparation. The LSU School of Music graduate operates with the tagline “I trained for this” and whether she’s referring to her role as founder of the health and wellness group Musicians Run or her ability to leverage her classically trained voice to perform in multiple genres, Quiana demonstrates exactly that. Quiana arranges, performs and composes a variety of musical styles including jazz, soul, blues and funk. She can be found throughout the region and nationally collaborating on cross-genre performances, among them with various artists at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as their principal Soprano. The former band director currently finds time between collaborations to teach prospective vocalists at Loyola University, cultivating students’ understanding of process and technical components to more effectively serve the potential of their art and instrument.

Sandra Parks

dancer and choreographer

As a dancer, choreographer and translator Sandra Parks understands the value of language to connect people. For her, dance is a language she can use to spark conversations about women in performing arts and in other male-dominated professions. In 2013 the NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate founded Women in Dance, a 4-day annual international conference held in Baton Rouge to celebrate and promote women’s leadership in dance-related fields. The former LSU dance program director has choreographed performances at Carnegie Hall and the Manhattan Center, developed multimedia performances with collaborators from other fields, and has worked as a consultant and sportscaster for the New England Patriots Chinese Initiative. Recently, Sandra toured with the Chinese Arena Football League as a content producer. Sandra continues to use her passion for dance and interpretation to bridge gaps in communication around the world, and each performance celebrates the complexities of successful collaboration.

Tiffany Stewart

Clinical Psychologist, Director of the Behavior Technology Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Body perception matters, which is why Dr. Tiffany Stewart, an LSU graduate with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, has devoted most of her career to research on how we view bodies as they relate to performance. Her work is leading a movement to focus beyond simple appearance notions to functional health. More than 10 years as a competitive gymnast helped spark Tiffany’s interest in behavioral medicine research, which she later combined with a love for technology. As the director of the Behavior Technology Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Tiffany works to break the illusion of a perfect human form with apps and games that aim to improve health and performance. She takes cues from soldiers and athletes about what an “ideal” body really is and collaborates with local and national organizations to explore and illuminate the idea that a body’s idealized form and actual function are not always one and the same

Wayne Newhauser

medical physicist

The field of 3D printing has rapidly grown from a hobby for technology enthusiasts to a powerful tool across a wide range of industries, and medical physicist Dr. Wayne Newhauser is on the leading-edge of that transformation. Wayne applies his expertise in radiation treatment therapy and his passion for helping humanity to explore new ways to recover from cancer using 3D design. He holds degrees in both nuclear engineering and medical physics and has worked in some of the leading cancer research centers around the globe. As director of the medical physics program at LSU, Wayne fosters professional development for up-and-coming scientists from diverse backgrounds to continue studying how technology could enhance treatment and post-treatment life for survivors. His research into 3D scanning and printing offers hope to cancer survivors by working to minimize tissue damage caused by drugs, radiation and surgery. His interdisciplinary research at LSU models the life-saving possibilities that emerge when you harness technology to search for answers with teams from seemingly unrelated fields.