Dare to Know

Dare to know is the translation of “Sapere Aude”, the battle cry for the Age of Enlightenment, during the 17th and 18th centuries.

DATE

OCT 3, 2019

TIME

9AM - 10PM PDT

LOCATION

HERBST THEATRE

401 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102

About the Event

TEDxSanFrancisco is a day-long conference featuring compelling TED speakers who are masters in their disciplines, spanning from tech, science, philosophy, and design. Each speaker will share how these aspects impacts our lives.

For the fourth year in a row, we're back in San Francisco to push through the frontiers of knowledge with our theme “Dare to Know." This year, we will discuss advancements in fields including artificial intelligence, precision medicine, citizen medicine, social equity, fintech, neuroscience, physics, and design.

What to Expect

The check-in process will start at 8:30 am with the conference starting promptly at 9 am and ending at 5:40 pm. Our local partners will provide lunch, snacks, and drinks. From 12 pm to 1 pm, join our 2019 speaker, Joon Yun, one of the founders of Yun Family Foundation, at the brainstorming workshop on Inclusive Stakeholding, a competition intended to spark social innovations that address the world's greatest challenges through better alignment of incentives. US $10,000 in grant money has been pledged to TEDxSanFrancisco attendees!

After listening to our wonderful speakers, come mingle with them and the attendees, and celebrate the future of San Francisco at Chambers Eat and Drink from 6 pm to 10 pm. We will have live entertainment, such as a special guest DJ, interactive games, art, and more! Food and Drinks provided in tickets with After Party access.

Speakers

Stuart Firestein, PhD

Neuroscientist / Professor

Failure as a path into the unimaginable

Dr. Stuart Firestein is the former Chair of Columbia University's Department of Biological Sciences where his laboratory studies the vertebrate olfactory system, possibly the best chemical detector on the face of the planet. Aside from its molecular detection capabilities, the olfactory system serves as a model for investigating general principles and mechanisms of signaling and perception in the brain. His laboratory seeks to answer that fundamental human question: How do I smell?

Jennifer Johns

Musician, Producer and Entrepreneur

Afro-diasporic world music

Jennifer Johns is a powerhouse performer and keynote speaker who creates sounds and experiences that stir your soul, inspire your mind, and move your body. She has taken her brand of “Afro-diasporic world music” quite literally all over the globe.

Robert Strong

Magician

Three times voted San Francisco's Best Magician!

Voted San Francisco’s Best Magician two years in a row also voted San Francisco's Best Comedian twice, Robert Strong has performed for two Presidents of the United States. He’s a 10 year artist in residence at The Smithsonian, a resident magician at Google, and TEDxSanFrancisco’s favorite wizard.

SF Girls Chorus

Voices of San Francisco

Unique sound of young women's voices through an exemplary music education program

Now in its 40th season, the five-time GRAMMY Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) is one of the nation’s leading youth arts organizations.

Chirag Patel, PhD

Biomedical Data Scientist

Uncovering connections between the human environment, genes, and health

Dr. Patel’s long-term goal is to address problems in human health and disease by developing computational methods to reproducibly and efficiently reason over high-throughput data streams.

Leah Rosenberg

Artist

Exploring the ways color, form, flavor, and arrangements affect human emotion

Leah Rosenberg’s art spans painting, installation, sculpture, printmaking, and food, while focusing on the role of color in our lives and its emotional or psychological impact. Her work has been presented in solo and two-person exhibitions nationally and internationally.

Lauren Kunze

Author

Analyzing billions of interactions between bots and humans

Lauren Kunze is the CEO of Pandorabots, a leading chatbot platform that powers conversational AI software for hundreds of thousands of developers and top global brands.

Richard J. Davidson, PhD

Psychology and Psychiatry Professor & Author

Researching how mindfulness changes the emotional life of our brains

Richard Davidson’s research is focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing including meditation and related contemplative practices.

Olenka Steciw Villarreal

Innovator

Building the nation's most innovative inclusive public playgrounds

Olenka Steciw Villarreal started the Magical Bridge Playground Foundation, a foundation which brings to life innovative playgrounds that serve visitors of all ages and abilities to build more inclusive communities.

Tan Le

Neuroinformatics Entrepreneur

Advancing our understanding of the human brain

Tan Le founded Emotiv, a neuroinformatics company that develops mobile electroencephalography (EEG) systems used to advance the understanding of the human brain and accelerate the creation of life changing solutions.

Kimberly Bryant

Tech Activist

Changing the face of technology

Kimberly Bryant started Black Girls CODE as a way to introduce young girls of color to the field of technology and computer programming with a concentration on entrepreneurial concepts.

Christian Marc Schmidt

Designer

Showing us what data knows

Christian Marc Schmidt is the founder of Schema, a research and design firm based in Seattle, whose focus is on the intersection of design thinking and data visualization.

Tito Jankowski

Air Miner

Condensing CO2 into usable material

Tito Jankowski and his friend, Matthew Eshed, founded Impossible Labs, a consultant company focused on new business opportunities to commercialize sustainable technology and in turn, reduce climate change.

Daniel Whiteson, PhD

Physicist Professor & Author

Reminding us what we don't know

Daniel Whiteson has a desire to understand the fundamental nature of our Universe. So naturally, he is a Professor of Physics at UC Irvine. Whiteson is also the co-author of "We Have No Idea”, a light-hearted look at the open mysteries of the Universe.

Bruno Zamborlin, PhD

AI Entrepreneur

Converting objects into intelligent surfaces

Bruno Zamborlin founded HyperSurfaces, a company that uses edge-AI to convert any object of any material and shape into an intelligent HyperSurface: seamlessly merging the physical and data worlds without the need for buttons, touch screens or even internet connections.

Onno Faber

Citizen Scientist

Finding a cure to his own rare disease

Onno Raber started RDMD in 2018 (after being diagnosed with a rare disease called NF2) to empower patients and communities to accelerate therapy development in rare diseases.

Oak Felder

Songwriter & Producer

Grammy Award Winner

Oak Felder and his production partner, Andrew “Pop” Wansel has collaborated with some of the hottest names in the business from Ariana Grande and Britney Spears to Miguel and Wiz Khalifa. He is a Grammy winning artist who prides himself on putting the artist first, while he continues to make his own mark on the music industry.

Sheena Allen

Fintech Entrepreneur

Serving the unbanked and underbanked

Allen is a fintech entrepreneur who has changed banking and financial services. Her second company, CapWay, provides financial health and education to those that did not have this access before.

Joon Yun, MD

Social Innovator

Revolutionizing social good innovation

Dr. Joon Yun is the President and Managing Partner of the hedge fund Palo Alto Investors, LP It was founded in 1989 with approximately $2 billion in assets invested in healthcare.