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26 August 2014

TEDx San Diego to feature Brian Keating, UC San Diego astrophysicist and 'Big Bang' theorist

EVENT INFO: TEDx San Diego “Chain Re▪Ac▪tion”

As an event sponsor, UC San Diego Extension looks forward to this year’s TEDx San Diego, featuring an exceptional lineup of cutting-edge, innovative speakers.

Each speaker will deliver a brief presentation, limited to 18 minutes, highlighting the latest trends in their respective fields.

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Brian Keating: “What we’ve done is to potentially help answer the oldest question of humankind, How did we come to exist?"

Under the banner of “Chain Re▪Ac▪tion,” the event is set for Saturday, Nov. 8, 1 pm to 6:15 pm, at Copley Symphony Hall in downtown San Diego. The title refers to two “big-picture” themes:

  • The ways in which one person is able to affect the lives of many through their ideas and action; and

  • How technology can alter the way in which we communicate and interact with one another, thus changing the fabric of our society

This year’s lineup of speakers includes UC San Diego astrophysics professor Brian Keating.

In addition, Greg Horowitt, co-founder and senior advisor of  Extension's Global CONNECT, will be a featured speaker. He's an expert on venture funding for the world’s ecosystems and author of “The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley.”

Early this year, Keating joined with nearly 50 scientists from UC San Diego, Cal Tech, Harvard and the University of Minnesota in announcing results of a 13-year study of the origins of the universe.

Keating’s team utilized the ultra-powerful Polarbear telescope — which he designed — to explore the universe from northern Chili’s Atacama desert, said to be the driest desert on earth, at an attitude of 17,000 feet.

Keating has described Polarbear as a very powerful “time machine.”

His team of scientists believes they captured traces of the “big bang” that occurred 13.8 billion years ago. In short, the team discovered remnants of heat from that explosion.

“What we’ve done is to potentially help answer the oldest question of humankind, How did we come to exist?” Keating was quoted as saying. “The discovery has essentially captured the smoking gun of a vast explosion that took place at the beginning of time.”

Other scheduled speakers include:

  • William Ury: One of the world’s best-known and influential experts on the art of negotiation, ranging from family feuds to boardroom battles to ethnic wars

  • Rabbi Laurie Coskey: An expert on issues that impact the working poor, she is executive director of the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice of San Diego County

  • Nuvi Mehta: As San Diego Symphony’s Special Projects Director, he’s building a new generation of classical music devotees