TEDxPSU

TEDxPSU TEDxPSU is an independent TEDx event operated under a license from TED at Penn State. Our goal as an organization is two-fold.

TEDxPSU 2025 will be held February 8 at 3PM in Schwab Auditorium!❌ Get tickets at TEDxPSU2025.eventbrite.com TEDxPSU is Penn State’s locally organized, student-run, annual TEDx conference. Over the past eleven years, we have provided students, faculty, staff, and State College community members with a memorable, interactive full-day TEDx conference full of enlightening talks on a wide breadth of t

opics. First, we aim to showcase the best research, ideas, and values that Penn State students, faculty, and alumni have to offer our community and beyond. Secondly, we bring in speakers from outside of our community to provide new perspectives on the world at large. Our reach extends to Penn State, State College, our Commonwealth campuses, and across the United States and the globe. We pledge to continuously provide novel “ideas worth spreading” to all of these communities.

TEDxPSU is more than a conference. It’s a space where people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and communities, ...
06/15/2026

TEDxPSU is more than a conference. It’s a space where people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and communities, come together to share ideas, learn from one another and grow. Our events bring together not only the TEDxPSU team, but also the State College community and surrounding towns who show up to hear inspiring speakers and witness Penn State students unite around a shared purpose. In a world that often feels disconnected, TEDxPSU reminds us of the power of community, conversation, and ideas that change everything.
That’s why TEDxPSU matters.

Introducing the 2026–2027 Executive Board for TEDxPSU!A new chapter begins with a team of visionary leaders, creative th...
05/25/2026

Introducing the 2026–2027 Executive Board for TEDxPSU!
A new chapter begins with a team of visionary leaders, creative thinkers, and passionate voices committed to bringing powerful ideas and meaningful conversations to the stage.
We are excited for what’s ahead and proud to welcome the individuals who will shape the next era of TEDxPSU.
Here’s to bold ideas, collaboration, and a year of inspiring impact.
PennState StudentLeaders Innovation Community

Introducing the 2026–2027 Executive Board for TEDxPSU! A new chapter begins with a team of visionary leaders, ...
05/25/2026

Introducing the 2026–2027 Executive Board for TEDxPSU!
A new chapter begins with a team of visionary leaders, creative thinkers, and passionate voices committed to bringing powerful ideas and meaningful conversations to the stage.
We are excited for what’s ahead and proud to welcome the individuals who will shape the next era of TEDxPSU.
Here’s to bold ideas, collaboration, and a year of inspiring impact.

Some choices aren’t about right or wrong. They’re about what we value most in the moment.At TEDxPSU, Dr. Nina Lauharatan...
04/24/2026

Some choices aren’t about right or wrong. They’re about what we value most in the moment.
At TEDxPSU, Dr. Nina Lauharatanahirun invites us to rethink how we see the teenage brain. As an Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Biomedical Engineering at Penn State, her research reveals something deeper than the assumption that adolescents make poor decisions.
Through brain imaging, behavioral modeling, and artificial intelligence, she studies the exact moment a choice is made. What emerges is not a lack of judgment, but a different way of weighing risk and reward.
Where adults may prioritize certainty or financial gain, adolescents may value connection, identity, and social belonging. Not irrational, just a different equation.
A powerful reminder that understanding behavior starts with understanding perspective.
HumanBehavior MindsetShift IdeasWorthSpreading

Some ideas challenge what we think we know. Others ask us to rethink what we trust.At TEDxPSU, Dr. Joshua Kellogg invite...
04/20/2026

Some ideas challenge what we think we know. Others ask us to rethink what we trust.
At TEDxPSU, Dr. Joshua Kellogg invites us to look closer at a world that’s constantly evolving beneath our feet. Plants and viruses adapt faster than we do, yet much of our understanding is still rooted in research from decades ago.
He challenges a belief many of us hold. That “organic” always means safe. In reality, two plants grown just miles apart can develop entirely different, even harmful, properties depending on their environment.
Nature is not static. It is dynamic, complex, and always changing.
And learning to keep up with that change may be one of the most important things we do.
StayCurious IdeasWorthSpreading

Some stories aren’t written in words. They’re built, carved, and carried through time.At TEDxPSU, Dr. James Doyle invite...
04/20/2026

Some stories aren’t written in words. They’re built, carved, and carried through time.
At TEDxPSU, Dr. James Doyle invites us to look beyond the surface of ancient artifacts and into the lives of the people who created them. As an archaeologist and Director of the Matson Museum of Anthropology at Penn State, his work brings history into the present, using objects to reveal identity, culture, and human experience.
From architecture to everyday artifacts, nothing that remains is random. Each piece holds intention, offering insight into how ancient civilizations saw the world and their place within it.
Because when we take the time to truly see what was left behind, we begin to better understand who we are becoming.
HumanStory HistoryMatters IdeasWorthSpreading

Some ideas expand the way we see the world. Others give us the tools to understand it.At TEDxPSU, Maurie Caitlin Kelly i...
04/19/2026

Some ideas expand the way we see the world. Others give us the tools to understand it.
At TEDxPSU, Maurie Caitlin Kelly invites us to see data not as something abstract, but as something deeply human. As Director of Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA), one of the nation’s largest open geospatial data platforms, her work lives at the intersection of access, transparency, and real-world impact.
From solving cold cases to simulating floods and mapping decades of environmental change, PASDA shows us that data is more than information. It is insight, history, and possibility.
Her perspective shifts something essential. Big data is not just a resource, it is a right. And when it is accessible, it becomes a powerful tool for communities, for justice, and for shaping a more informed future.
Because what we choose to share, and who we share it with, defines the world we’re building.
CommunityImpact FutureThinking IdeasWorthSpreading

Some of the most powerful innovations don’t begin in labs. They begin in the quiet act of making.At TEDxPSU, Charlene Gr...
04/19/2026

Some of the most powerful innovations don’t begin in labs. They begin in the quiet act of making.
At TEDxPSU, Charlene Gross reminds us that fashion is not just surface, it is foundation. As a fashion historian, costume designer, and Director of the Fashion Archive at Penn State, she reveals how textiles have shaped human progress for centuries.
The loom did not just create fabric, it helped inspire the logic behind the computer. What we wear is not separate from innovation, it is part of its origin story.
With over 200 designs and a deep commitment to collaboration, her work bridges tradition and technology, honoring craftsmanship while expanding access through new possibilities.
Fashion is not just expression. It is history, invention, and impact woven together.
FashionStudies TechnologyAndArt StyleWithSubstance

Some identities aren’t given, they’re discovered through culture, voice, and lived experience.At TEDxPSU, Dr. Jonte “JT”...
04/19/2026

Some identities aren’t given, they’re discovered through culture, voice, and lived experience.
At TEDxPSU, Dr. Jonte “JT” Taylor shares how Hip-Hop became more than music. It became a way to understand himself and the world around him, shaping an identity rooted in truth, resilience, and perspective.
Now as an educator, he brings that same energy into the classroom, using Hip-Hop and inclusive STEAM practices to help students, especially those with disabilities, see themselves in how they learn.
Because when education reflects who you are, it doesn’t just teach. It transforms.
CulturallyResponsiveTeaching IdeasWorthSpreading

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Schwab Auditorium
University Park, PA
16802

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