[meteorite-list] NASA Invites Public To Discuss 'What Matters Next' At TedxNASA

[Ron Baalke]

Sep. 29, 2010

Katherine Trinidad 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1100 
katherine.trinidad at nasa.gov 

Kathy Barnstorff                                         
Langley Research Center 
757-864-9886 
kathy.barnstorff at nasa.gov 

Harla Sherwood 
National Institute of Aerospace 
757-636-6300 
sherwood at nianet.org 
RELEASE: 10-232

NASA INVITES PUBLIC TO DISCUSS "WHAT MATTERS NEXT" AT TEDXNASA

HAMPTON, Va. -- NASA is inviting the public to join agency leaders and 
innovators from a variety of fields on Nov. 4 to discuss "What 
Matters Next." Discussions and presentations on the theme will be the 
centerpiece of the second TEDxNASA, a daylong event modeled on the 
TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conferences that bring 
together leading thinkers to create a dialogue on important global 
challenges. 

NASA's Langley Research Center and the National Institute of 
Aerospace, both in Hampton, Va., are sponsoring TEDxNASA at the 
Ferguson Center for the Arts in nearby Newport News. It is free and 
open to the public and will be streamed on the TEDxNASA website. 
Registration opens on Oct. 11 and runs through Oct. 24. For more 
information on the event and how to register, visit: 

http://tedxnasa.com 

"At TEDxNASA we're able to bring together artists and engineers, 
rocket scientists and musicians," said Lesa Roe, director of Langley. 
"Together we can create extraordinary conversations about what 
matters next and ideas to help us meet world challenges." 

More than 20 top speakers -- focusing on education, innovation, 
family, technology, literature and art -- will share inspiring and 
thought-provoking stories at TEDxNASA, as they do at a full TED 
event. The challenge of those presenting is to give the talk of their 
lives in 18 minutes or less, based on the theme. NASA's Chief 
Technologist Bobby Braun and Jim Green, director of the Planetary 
Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington are among those slated to speak. 

Green will present at the same time NASA's EPOXI spacecraft is flying 
by and snapping close-up images of comet Hartley 2, more than 11 
million miles away from Earth. 

Last year's TEDxNASA event attracted international best-selling author 
Mitch Albom, Carnegie Hall humorist and guitar virtuoso Mike Rayburn 
and Virginia Tech robotic pioneer Dennis Hong, among others. 

Reporters interested in attending the event should contact Kathy 
Barnstorff at kathy.barnstorff at nasa.gov. 

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading." 
Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has 
grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple 
initiatives. Conference presentations are made available for free at 
TED.com. 

TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Sir 
Richard Branson, and many others. The "x" in TEDxNASA indicates it is 
an independently organized TED event. 

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov 
	
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