Complimentary copypasta from TEDxCMU
Louis-Philippe Morency
CMU Faculty
Since January 2015, Louis-Philippe Morency has been a tenure-track Faculty at CMU Language Technology Institute where he leads the Multimodal Communication and Machine Learning Laboratory (MultiComp Lab). He was previously Research Faculty at USC Computer Science Department. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His research focuses on building the computational foundations to enable computers with the abilities to analyze, recognize and predict subtle human communicative behaviors during social interactions. He has formalized this new research endeavor with the Human Communication Dynamics framework, addressing four key computational challenges: behavioral dynamic, multimodal dynamic, interpersonal dynamic and societal dynamic. This multi-disciplinary research topic overlaps the fields of multimodal interaction, social psychology, computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and has many applications in areas as diverse as medicine, robotics and education.
Scott Sandage
CMU Faculty
Scott Sandage has taught American history at CMU for 20 years and is the author of Born Losers: A History of Failure in America. Active as a public historian, he has been a consultant to film and radio documentaries, as well as exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and other museums. His writings and interviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Politico, and other mainstream publications.
Christopher Olivola
CMU Faculty
Christopher Olivola is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. Before joining Tepper and Carnegie Mellon, he was a Newton International Fellow at the Warwick Business School and University College, London. He received a B.A. in psychology from the University of Chicago and a joint-PhD in psychology and policy from Princeton University. Before that, he spent his pre-adult life growing up on 4 different continents (mostly in developing countries). His research interests span several related areas, including decision making, cognitive science, behavioral economics, consumer behavior, social cognition, and experimental philosophy. His research has explored a variety of topics, such as the accuracy and impact of first impressions, human conceptions of randomness, the factors that influence charitable giving, and consumer responses to taxes.
Cameron Tonkinwise
CMU Faculty
Cameron Tonkinwise, is the Director of Design Studies at the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He has a background in philosophy; his dissertation concerned the educational philosophies of Martin Heidegger. Cameron continues to research what designers can learn from philosophies of making, material culture studies and sociologies of technology. Cameron is facilitating the School of Design’s creation of a new Design Studies sequence of courses that better prepare designers for a wider scope of work and the more interdisciplinary challenges of 21st century societies.
David Selverian
CMU student
David Selverian is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University, where he is majoring Decision Science. Originally from North Wales, Pennsylvania, David is interested in understanding how and why people make the choices that they do, especially in the context of business. In the past, David has been heavily involved in the world of startups and venture capital. His constant exposure to new technologies has taught him the importance of separating digital identities from reality. Inspired by his studies, professional experiences, and personal insight, David hopes that his talk, “The Keys to Happiness: Apple Pie and Some Coffee” will help the audience understand how social media can influence confidence, perspective, and well-being.
Rubini Naidu
CMU student
Naidu is a psychology major, with a minor in photography and on track for medical school through the premedical curriculum. Naidu is referred to by her nominators as “one of the most energetic, intelligent and thoughtful undergraduate students with whom we have ever had the pleasure of working.” Her interests and talents are breathtakingly broad, ranging from psychology and biology to art, design and photography. More significantly, she has integrated all of these into a coherent mission for her life. This is perhaps best illustrated by her efforts to combine her study of psychology and science with photography. She sees her photography as a means of capturing principles and phenomena that she has discovered and discussed in other facets of her education, bringing in connections from psychology, biology, philosophy and economics. Naidu has also demonstrated her commitment to service and capacity for leadership while at Carnegie Mellon. She has served as an academic coach, serves now as President of the Doctors of Carnegie Program for students interested in the health professions and founded Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, an organization that is dedicated to exploring Hindu religion and its applications to students’ lives.
Deborah Gilboa
Guest Speaker
Closing the expectation gap between what adults believe today’s youth is capable of, and allowing them to create their own solutions to today (and tomorrow’s) biggest challenges; closing the wealth gap, education gap and healthcare gap will impact society greatly in the next 5-10 years. Based on her work with families worldwide, Debroah Gilboa, MD’s expertise has guided her towards her philosophy of having adults step back, so youth can step up. Media personality, author, family physician and mom of four boys, Dr. G is excited to join TEDx CMU in her hometown, at her alma mater.
Rajiv Gandhi
Guest Speaker
Dr. Rajiv Gandhi is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Rutgers University-Camden. He also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2003 from the University of Maryland, College Park. His research interests lie in the broad area of theoretical computer science. Specifically, he is interested in approximation and randomized algorithms. He is a passionate educator who loves working with students with diverse backgrounds, helping them achieve their potential. He has been the recipient of several teaching excellence awards, including the Warren I. Susman award for teaching excellence at Rutgers University in 2014. He also received the Chancellor’s award for Civic Engagement at Rutgers-Camden in 2013. He was a Fulbright Fellow from Jan-June 2011, during which he worked with students in Mumbai, India, and has continued to do so. Since 2009, he has also been working with high school students as part of the Program in Algorithmic and Combinatorial Thinking (http://algorithmicthinking.org).
Carolyn O’Donnell
Guest Speaker
Ms. Carolyn O’Donnell is a professionally certified Florida English and Social Science educator, who earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in 2002. Her studies focused in English literature and biological genetic sciences. Upon garnering a teaching position in Florida’s public schools, Carolyn realized she had talents in developing curricula, training colleagues in educational leadership, and coaching students in writing, reading, and test taking strategies. Also at that time, she sought out her own teachers to learn self-reflection practices that would give her the courage to live a more impassioned, conscious life. Carolyn began traveling, and has since visited 30 countries; she learned the art of photography, made meditation and conscious living a priority, and pursued poetry writing. Inside and outside the school classroom, Carolyn creates lessons for adults and students, so that they too can realize their own infinitely powerful potential; her interdisciplinary lessons based in philosophy, emotional intelligence, cultural studies, and literary and scientific disciplines, inspire students to enact their knowledge: they too have the courage to move forward and make their dreams living. Carolyn is pursuing a Masters of Arts in English Literature through Middlebury College. She continues to write poems, publish essays, and travel with the understanding that the external world is a reflection of her internal world.