In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna
Karlsplatz 13
Vienna, Wien, 1040
Austria

Ardeshir Mahdavi

Dr. Ardeshir Mahdavi is a Senior University Professor of Building Physics and Building Ecology at TU Wien, Austria. Prior to his appointment at TU, professor Mahdavi acted as a full-tenured professor of building physics at the School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Professor Dr. Ardeshir Mahdavi was previously the Director of the Graduate Program in Building Science and Technology at TU Wien as well as Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Professor Mahdavi has conducted research in the fields of building physics, building performance simulation, building ecology, and human ecology. He has contributed to research on building technology, energy efficiency, building systems control, urban micro-climate, and occupant-centric building design and operation. Professor Mahdavi has published over 700 scientific papers and has supervised over 65 doctoral students. Professor Mahdavi is a recipient of the prestigious IBPSA (International Building Performance Simulation Association) Distinguished Achievements Awards.

Armin Tavakoli

Dr. Armin Tavakoli is a theoretical physicist. He researches quantum mechanics, which concerns nature on the smallest scales, such as atoms and particles. His focus is partly on understanding foundational questions in a world governed by the laws of quantum mechanics and partly on applying quantum mechanics to information processing tasks such as communication and computation. Originally from Sweden, he was active in research in Stockholm, Barcelona, Gdansk, and Berkeley before receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Geneva in 2020. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI).

Caroline Hammoutene

Caroline Hammoutene is an advocate of participation. She is a program manager at the Open Innovation in Science Center of the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft. She is also involved in initiating citizen assemblies in Austria with the Future Council (Zukunftsrat) and is currently completing her second master’s degree in “Economics, Imagination and Future Design” at the Cusanus University of Applied Sciences for Social Design. Caroline holds a bachelor’s degree in “Financial and Actuarial Mathematics” and a master’s degree in “Biomedical Engineering”. She is co-founder of the associations [kat]alab and Bioversum, both of which aim to bring science and sustainability closer to society. Caroline also facilitates and moderates participatory processes and events.

Christopher Sebastian

Christopher Sebastian is a technical writer, journalist, and digital media researcher. He has also lectured at Columbia University, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and Oxford. He writes about food, politics, media, and pop culture. Although his focus lies primarily in animal rights theory, Christopher includes perspectives from a variety of socio-political and economic backgrounds. As human and animal liberation frequently overlap, he says there is no reason to limit the scope of our knowledge to single-issue perspectives. Among others, Christopher examines current and historical connections between Black liberation and animal liberation in U.S. American culture and throughout the global west.

Hayden Arp

Hayden Arp is an American songwriter living in Vienna, Austria. He was raised outside of Washington, DC, and studied electronic music composition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. His debut single, In the Fading Light, was described by The FADER as “Tingling… gorgeous,” and his debut EP, For Gabriel, was called “Beautiful and elegiac” by ThrdCoast. 2022 has seen him release new music such as “The Ones Who Took it Away,” a song for the climate crisis, and his debut LP, With Eliza, an album about road trips, writing, and Virginia in the summertime. He has performed around the world in cities such as Los Angeles, Paris, Vienna, New York, and Berlin.

Jesse de Pagter Stefan Weingärtner

#decarbnow is a collaborative group project that evolved out of a collective effort between people from various professional backgrounds. Jesse de Pagter is involved with the project driven by his background as a philosopher that studies the challenges of the anthropocene for our way of thinking about technological development. He is currently finishing his PhD at the TU Wien. Stefan Weingärtner is passionate about finding new ways to address the structural problems leading to climate change from different angles, focusing strongly on an economic approach. He currently works as a scientific assistant at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research and holds a master’s degree in economics and development studies.

Marlene Johler

Marlene Johler has 10 years of experience in M&A, Venture Capital, Consulting, Entrepreneurship and Circular Economy in Europe, Africa and Asia. She supports companies in their first steps towards the Circular Economy by offering knowledge on what the Circular Economy is and how companies can benefit from it. Specifically, she works with businesses to design Circular Economy strategies, identify circular opportunities and guides them during the implementation phase of projects. Marlene focuses on the transition to the Circular Economy because, as she points out, we don’t have much time left to do something about the climate crisis. At the same time, she sees Circular Economy as a driver for innovation and sustainability that will allow us to preserve our planet for future generations. Circular Economy is also, in her opinion, a huge business opportunity for companies, as it allows them to develop new business areas, reduce risks and build a positive image.

Michael Koppmann

Michael Koppmann studied “Software Engineering & Internet Computing” at TU Wien and graduated with a master’s degree in 2021. He is now working as a senior IT security consultant at SBA Research in Vienna. In his daily work, he is helping companies finding critical security vulnerabilities in their products by conducting audits on a wide range of computer systems. During this work, Michael learned about the importance of sustainability in software systems. Alongside his work as a penetration tester, Michael is a public speaker, as well as a trainer for various security related workshops. He is also one of the co-founders of sec4dev, SBA Research’s security conference for developers. Michael is an “Offensive Security Certified Professional” (OSCP) and a “Certified Information Systems Security Professional” (CISSP).

Michael Strasser

Michael Strasser is a triathlete and long distance cycling specialist with the endurance and mental strength to set some of the most impressive endurance records in the world. An architect by training, he decided to quit his office job in 2006 and dedicate his life completely to sports. His first successes were in long distance triathlon where he won one of the toughest alpine triathlon, the Austria Extreme (Ironman distance with 5800 meters of altitude) several times. In record time of only 34,5 days he crossed Africa in 2016 from the Mediterranean coast of Alexandria to the Cape of Good Hope (Cairo2Cape). Furthermore, in 2018 he cycled from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego (Ice2Ice) in 84 days, setting another world record.

Nicolas Kirchmayr

Nicolas Kirchmayr is an entrepreneur in the field of automation technology for process controls. He co-founded hae.sh GmbH in Linz, Austria and serves as its CEO. The vision of hae.sh is to liberate organizations from bureaucratic controlling activities, while providing more reliable and trustworthy insights into processes at the same time. The company works on software tools that can oversee complex business operations in real time and provide tamper-proof documentation for external stakeholders. Nicolas has a background in applied mathematics and has previously worked both in the fields of data science and blockchain technology.

Nina Hlava

Nina Hlava is the world’s only FEMALE solo pantomime artist. She studied under Prof. Boris Hybner the profound slavic school of nonverbal and comedy theater at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic, where she also received her PhD. After meeting Marcel Marceau in a life-changing masterclass, she decided to follow the tradition of interpreting the melancholic figure of Pierrot and went therefore to work with master teachers throughout Czech Republic, France and Switzerland. In 2005 she started to study with the acclaimed tap dancer Katherine Kramer in Florida. From now on Nina lived in both countries, Czech Republic and the U.S. and started touring with her solo pantomime program throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S. and teaching at several universities such as University of Miami and Florida Internation University. Since 2017 Nina is back in her birth country Austria, where she founded the Academy of Arts in Heidenreichstein.

Pascal Haider

Pascal Haider is an experienced manager, passionate entrepreneur, speaker, world traveler and father of four children. He holds master’s degrees in Business Administration and International Management, where he focused his research on customer experience and charitable giving. Calling the world his home, the Austrian’s passion for people and the wish to create outstanding value through out of the box concepts has led him from initially working in asset management to taking managerial roles in renowned tech and marketing companies. Since then he has founded several companies, has passionately invested in others and currently heads a Web3 company and sales promotion agency, where he serves Fortune 500 companies around the world.

Ren Aldridge

Ren Aldridge is an artist, writer and the front woman of feminist punk band Petrol Girls. Her creative work weaves in and out of her political activism, and is committed to challenging the ideas and norms that uphold patriarchy and capitalism. She is an active member of feminist group F*Streik Graz where she focuses on co-organising demonstrations that mark each femicide that takes place in Austria. She holds a Masters of Research in Creative Practice from Glasgow School of Art, and a Bachelors in Fine Art from Goldsmiths UoL. She is also a terrible waitress and passionate dog mom.

Ren Aldrige

Ren Aldridge is an artist, writer and the front woman of feminist punk band Petrol Girls. Her creative work weaves in and out of her political activism, and is committed to challenging the ideas and norms that uphold patriarchy and capitalism. She is an active member of feminist group F*Streik Graz where she focuses on co-organising demonstrations that mark each femicide that takes place in Austria. She holds a Masters of Research in Creative Practice from Glasgow School of Art, and a Bachelors in Fine Art from Goldsmiths UoL. She is also a terrible waitress and passionate dog mom.

Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra

The Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra is a highly professional, traditional, and internationally acclaimed Viennese chamber orchestra, which has celebrated many great successes since its founding in 1997. They specialize in the repertoire of Viennese classical music, in particular the works of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as the great music of the Strauss dynasty and their contemporaries. All members of the orchestra either grew up in Vienna or studied in this wonderful music metropolis. They were able to absorb the passion for making music and the internationally popular “Viennese style” during their education. The longtime members of the ensemble are experienced, dedicated, and artistically highly qualified musicians, who have also performed in various orchestras and concert halls in Austria.

Veronika Winter

Veronika Winter is a climate activist and PhD student in the field of climate change education at the University of Vienna. Since 2019, she is part of the global climate movement and co-organizes strikes, workshops and climate justice campaigns at Fridays For Future, Scientists For Future and the Austrian Climate People’s Petition. She is especially interested in the field of climate communication and has co-founded the Austrian Network for Climate Journalism. In her activism, she focusses on empowerment strategies and highlighting the social injustice that underlies the climate and ecological crisis. Initiated by Greenpeace Austria, Veronika has filed a climate lawsuit at the Austrian Constitutional Court because of the Austrian government’s inaction in tackling the climate crisis.