Theme: Countdown

In the past, TED and TEDx-ers all over the world put Ideas worth spreading on stage without a political agenda. But with the worldwide need to achieve a net-zero future within the next decades, TED decide to join forces with different activists, scientists, artists, companies, entrepreneurs, ngo’s and local TEDx-events to inspire citizens of the world, cities, schools, companies and national governments and politicians to step up their efforts and reach the climate goals set in COP25 – the UN Climate Conference in Paris six years ago.

This November 12th, we are following TED's Countdown’s launch with our own TEDxRiceU Countdown. Join us and listen to what some of the greatest energy experts, climate scientists, and student thinkers change-makers from the premier university of the Energy Capital have to say about how to save the planet.

TEDxRiceU Countdown 2022 will take place at Moody Center of the Arts at Rice University, on November 12 from 5pm to 7pm. Seating is limited and tickets start at $10! Tickets are free for Rice students!

Rice University
6100 Main St
Houston, Texas, 77005
United States

Andrew Slaughter

Adjunct Faculty at University of Houston

Mr. Slaughter is a highly experienced energy executive with four decades of senior positions in major energy companies and leading consulting and advisory forms in Europe and North America. His areas of interest are energy markets, supply, demand and price dynamics, energy investment drivers, sustainability and the energy transition. Andrew currently teaches graduate and undergraduate energy courses at the University of Houston, creating and leading courses in Energy Value Chains and Refining and Petrochemicals. From 2015 until the end of 2019, Andrew was the Executive Director of the Deloitte Research and Insights Center for Energy In this role, he was responsible for developing and publishing strategic analysis and decision-focused insights for clients in the oil, gas and chemicals industries, the power and utilities sector, renewable energy and the industrial products and construction sector.

Daniel Cohan

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University and Member of EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors climate change subcommittee

Dr. Cohan received a B.A. in applied mathematics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in atmospheric science from Georgia Tech. Dr. Cohan is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award and served as a Fulbright Scholar in Australia. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, 75 popular media articles, and the book Confronting Climate Gridlock: How Diplomacy, Technology, and Policy Can Unlock a Clean Energy Future (Yale University Press, 2022), which was chosen by the Financial Times as one of best new books on climate and the environment.

Jack Pearce

Junior at Rice

Jack Pearce works on sensors and algorithms, processing images and signals to get understandable, useful information. Entering college, Jack believed he had to choose between the cause he wanted to help solve, and the skills he wanted to learn. In truth, to his surprise and delight, he got to choose both. Applying Electrical Engineering principles to aid climate change efforts, his recent research modeled a compact, low-cost detector for carbon dioxide, methane, and other airborne pollutants. He discovered his passion for imaging and detection technology in the process, continuing his research with the Computational Imaging Lab into the present. In this day and age, knowledge is incredibly versatile; if you truly care about a cause, you will find your own way to make a difference.

Shikhar Verma

Junior at Rice

Shikhar is a junior from Duncan, majoring in economics and minoring in energy and water sustainability. Although, none of this really matters because he spends the majority of his waking hours on the Rice New Energy Fund. In his speech, Shikhar will share why he went from chasing green bills to building green companies and how he is promoting climate finance at Rice.

Sylvia Dee

Assistant Professor in the department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science

Dr. Sylvia Dee, an Assistant Professor in the department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science, is a climate scientist specializing in climate change and the hydrological cycle in the past, present, and future. Her research focuses on how Earth’s modes of natural variability, like El Niño and La Niña events, compound with climate change to alter the characteristics of weather and climate extremes, such as flooding hazard on the Mississippi River. Her lab evaluates climate model data to understand future risks to human and natural systems. Outside of Rice, Sylvia regularly leads environmental science programming for the Girl Scouts of the USA, work for which she was recently honored with the “Global Leadership Award,” by the Girl Scouts of New England. She is a regular contributor to media coverage on climate change including via NPR, AccuWeather, and the Houston Chronicle. Sylvia loves working with Rice undergraduates to find solutions to environmental problems.

Taylor Giliam

Senior at Rice

Creativity is the key that unlocks the door to our hearts and futures. In Taylor Gilliam's eyes, this creativity is at the core of her social and artistic work surrounding environmental advocacy in Houston. As a senior at Rice University, Taylor majors in Political Science and environmental studies. Her studies allow her to examine the climate and the impacts of its change intersectionality- as people are affected by climate change differently based on their race or class. In her talk, Taylor will discuss the ways creativity has created a space for her to grapple with their terrifying and complex climate realities. Through creating, sharing her art, and building community with others, we see that creativity can lead to healing- not only ourselves but our greater Earth system.