TEDx Cranfield University

27/07/2024

Excited to see Dr Geoff Darch at the event! 🎉

Geoff is Head of Supply Demand Strategy at Anglian Water, responsible for supply and demand forecasting and monitoring, supply and demand management strategy, water trading, and the early-stage development of new resource options. Geoff is also a Non-Executive Director of Water Resources East, the regional, multi-sector membership organisation pioneering new approaches to managing water resources.

Prior to joining Anglian Water in 2017, Geoff spent 16 years in consultancy, advising on infrastructure climate risks and adaptation for clients including international finance institutions, government departments, environmental agencies and utility companies.

Geoff is a Chartered Scientist with a PhD in hydro-climatology, and is a Fellow of CIWEM and the Royal Meteorological Society.

27/07/2024

Pleased to welcome Professor Sir Iain Gray 👏

Professor Sir Iain Gray is the Director of Aerospace at Cranfield University, joining in March 2015 after serving as Chief Executive of InnovateUK for seven years. He oversees all aerospace learning, executive education, and research, and develops the Aerospace Strategy for the University Group.

Previously, he was Managing Director and General Manager of Airbus UK. Sir Iain holds an Engineering Science Honours degree from Aberdeen University and a Masters of Philosophy from Southampton University. He has received Honorary Doctorates from several universities and was awarded a CBE in 2014 and a Knighthood in 2023 for services to the aerospace industry.

Sir Iain is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of multiple prestigious engineering societies, including the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has received numerous awards, such as the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2007 and the Baird of Bute Award in 2016. In 2023, he was appointed Companion of the Air League.

Additionally, Sir Iain chairs the Aerospace Bristol Museum, is a Non-Executive Director for Versarien, and chairs CFMS UK Ltd.

27/07/2024

Are you excited to see our speakers today!
Lets announce our last few 📣

Say hi to Lindsay!

Lindsay MacMillan is a best-selling author and entrepreneur. Her next novel, Summer on Mackinac Island, is forthcoming from HarperCollins Publishers. Formerly, she was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs. Lindsay graduated magna cm laude from Dartmouth College. She has been interviewed by Katie Couric, CNBC, NASDAQ, Business Insider and more.

22/07/2024

Say a quick Ciao 👋 to our next speaker: Iolanda Bronzoni!

Born and sun-baked in Southern Italy, Iolanda left her country to explore what’s out there. She’s lived in Portugal, Spain, the UK, France, and Ireland, and she’s still wandering. A curious soul with a love for sports and ‘90s R&B and hip hop, she’s an ENFP-T, 51% extrovert, 49% introvert, passionate about tech, startup, mindfulness, human behavior and holistic medicine. She tries to live with intention, one failure (and many coffees) at a time. She has a podcast on women in sports, where she chats with athletes from around the world about confidence, mental health, and mindset.

22/07/2024

Pleased to introduce Robot-Spock…I mean Amber Murray 😏

A chartered accountant with the nickname ‘Robot-Spock’, Amber has danced with creativity, innovation, and number crunching.

Before her tenure in finance as a chartered accountant and auditor, Amber studied performing arts, and it was here she expanded her creative scope through a wide range of creative steams. From classical theatre to clowning and costume design; however, Amber never managed to get into the dark arts of magic.

She now incorporates her creative experience with her logical outlook for technology innovation and creative thinking.

19/07/2024

Sand is very on brand with the summer holidays starting today!

The guy who will be talking about sand as one our speakers is Dr Dave Barney 👏

Dave graduated with a BSc in Physics from Imperial College London in 1990. His first experience at CERN as a Summer Student ignited his interest in High Energy Physics. He completed his PhD at Imperial, focusing on beauty-particle observation in the CERN WA92 experiment. He returned to CERN in 1994 as a fellow with the CMS experiment, later becoming a staff member. Dave has led CMS detector projects worth £80M and has been involved in a major CMS upgrade since 2015. He has also been part of the advisory group “The Nine” to the CERN Director General for the past three years.

From 2000 to 2012, he was the CMS Education & Outreach coordinator, contributing to the Higgs boson discovery announcement in 2012. He co-chaired IPPOG, won the 2005 European Physical Society Outreach prize, and gave a TEDxYouth talk in 2015. In 2022, he returned to Education & Outreach and became CMS’ Head of Communications in 2023.

19/07/2024

Someone who you might recognise from our graduation posts is Dr Sara Hawi!
Well, we’re privileged to announce her as one of our speakers 🙌

Dr. Sara Hawi is a skilled engineer and researcher with a diverse academic background. She holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Lebanon and a master's degree in aerospace materials from the UK. She earned her PhD in precision engineering, focusing on antibacterial surfaces. Her work bridges engineering and microbiology, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Hawi now works as a project engineer in composites manufacturing at Airborne UK. She advocates for lifelong learning and effective cross-disciplinary communication, believing that true innovation happens at the intersection of diverse fields.

17/07/2024

Calling Doctor Wang! 📣

Dr. Katherine Wang is the Founder and CEO of Theraly Ltd, a company pioneering novel MedTech wearables aimed at alleviating chronic diseases such as lymphoedema. With a multidisciplinary background that spans Biomedical Science, Biomaterials, and Engineering, Katherine is passionate about developing solutions for under-met medical needs.

Finishing her PhD in Bioengineering and Medical Devices at UCL in 2022, she went on to be the recipient of multiple prestigious awards totalling over £200,000, including the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship (2024), and the UKRI ESRC funded Zinc Healthy Aging Catalyst Award (2022), a prize that is part of the wider Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge, a global competition founded by the US National Academy of Medicine. Katherine's proposal was chosen out of 1,170 total applications.

Katherine is also a champion of raising awareness for under-represented diseases. A keen public communicator, she won the ABSW media fellowship (2024), and will be working for BBC Future.

17/07/2024

Everyone say hey to Stella 👋

Stella Harris is a passionate advocate for women's and girls' rights, with a specific focus on education and gender empowerment. Growing up in an underprivileged background, Stella’s life trajectory changed when she was given the opportunity to attend school through the generosity of a benefactor. This pivotal and life changing experience ignited her dedication to fighting for the voiceless and underserved. With a heartfelt commitment to making education accessible to all, especially girls in disadvantaged communities, her advocacy work spans various initiatives, from grassroots community programs and mentoring to policy lobbying, all aimed at ensuring every girl worldwide has the chance to reach her full potential.

17/07/2024

Olá to Sara, our next speaker to be announced 👋

Sara Alão is the founder and CEO of Stars Edge Ltd, a company pioneering Novel Propulsion Systems for satellites, offering unprecedented operability, low cost, and minimal emissions. She holds a Master's in Space Engineering and is pursuing a PhD in Aerospace Engineering. Her career includes work with Rolls Royce on Hybrid Electric Engines and space sustainability initiatives with the ESA Clean Space office.
As CRANSEDS President, she led a 250+ member club, organised key conferences, and promoted diversity in engineering. An active member of the International Aviation Women's Association, she has presented her work at major conferences and won awards like the Women in Clean Tech and Sustainability 2024 People's Choice Award. Sara's dedication to aerospace sustainability and innovative propulsion systems positions her as a leading voice in the future of space exploration.

16/07/2024

👌It’s Kim!

Kim Del Kaze, a doctoral researcher at Cranfield University, has led the Green Team to significant progress towards the university's 2030 net-zero goals. His work focuses on sustainable energy systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. He won the 2023 UKERC International Summer School, led a team to the finals in the competition, and organized a major conference on sustainable campus ecosystems, fostering collaboration among six UK universities.

On campus, Kim is a leader in sustainability, driving projects like energy efficiency surveys, tree planting, and biodiversity initiatives. He promotes eco-consciousness, economic responsibility, and environmental stewardship. His commitment to diversity is evident through his roles in the IGNITE Network+, the UK Energy Institute, and as Membership Coordinator of the African Caribbean Society.

16/07/2024

📣 Our first speaker announcement 📣

Nicky Perfect!

Nicky served 31 years as a Metropolitan police officer, with the last 10 years as an international hostage and crisis negotiator on the elite New Scotland Yard Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit. She traveled the world teaching negotiation, working on international operations, and has spoken to hundreds of people in crisis.

As the first female Director of UK Training for the National Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Course, she designed and trained officers to handle life-and-death situations. After retiring, Nicky transformed a local garage into a community hub with a coffee shop and gym.

She now runs a consultancy specializing in communication and negotiation, sharing her skills to help others build trust quickly and improve their communication and negotiation abilities. Nicky was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2022 for her community service during the pandemic, leading to an invitation to the King's Coronation in 2023.

Nicky is the author of the bestseller “Crisis – true stories from my life as a hostage negotiator.” She lives with her partner, stepdaughter, and numerous animals, describing her life as “never boring.”

07/07/2024

WE A LIMITED TIME OFFER ON TICKETS 📣
Use code EARLYBIRD1 at this link to get your tickets and a free “Remove Before Flight” tag!

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30/06/2024

A few more graduated at the end of the week and we want to say a BIG Congratulations 🥳 to…
Andrea- the delightful Co-Organiser of TEDx Cranfield University
Sara- Our glamorous speaker at the event
Yating- Our superb website manager
Wishing you the best in your future endeavours! 🎉🎓

27/06/2024

CONGRATULATIONS 🎉
Similoluwa our amazing HR Co-Ordinator
Kashish a lovely TEDxCranfield Team Member
Anushka our dynamic HR Manager
We wish you all the best on your next chapters 🎓🥳

26/06/2024

Happy Graduation Week to all those graduating! You did it! 🥳 🎓
Good luck to those who will complete their master’s/PhD this year, we believe in you 🫡

23/06/2024

🌟Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day! 🌟 Today, we honor the brilliant minds and trailblazing spirits of women engineers who are transforming our world. At TEDx Cranfield University, we believe in the power of diversity and innovation. Let’s continue to break barriers and inspire the next generation. 💪👩‍🔧

23/06/2024

Bom São João! 🇵🇹
O que vão fazer para celebrar?

22/06/2024

WE’RE HIRING 📣

Our design team is looking for creative individuals to join us in creating artwork. If you have a passion for design and want to contribute, we want to hear from you!

22/06/2024

Dr Andrea Spinelli is a Research Fellow at Cranfield University.
He graduated in his PhD in Aerospace in 2023 on the topic of Hybrid-Electric Aircraft and Design Space Optimisation methodologies.
He is currently working on the ONEHeart Airbus research project in accelerating the development of novel aircraft concepts through the application of Bayesian Networks on requirements analysis and multi-disciplinary optimisation. Dr Spinelli has been a member of Cranfield since 2020 and contributed to its Student Union by managing the Boardgames society after the pandemic.

21/06/2024

🎙️ Lydia Frumosu 🎙️
🌟 Lead Organiser & License Holder, TEDx Cranfield University 🌟 🔬 PhD Candidate in Surface Engineering 🔬 🎓 2 years as CSA Student Engagement Coordinator 🎓 🛼 Roller Derby Enthusiast 🛼 ✈️ Passionate Traveler ✈️

15/06/2024

Yesterday, we got to present our new TEDx Cranfield University Society at the Clubs and Societies awards evening! Our Video Production Managers Savvy and Ismail did a great job being in front of the camera (instead of behind it) for a change! Thank you, everyone, for making our society and event great! Sorry we couldn't shout out everyone, but we're all super proud of our team!

Thank you to the CSA Cranfield for letting us showcase at the Clubs and Societies awards evening! Also, congratulations to cranfielduniwalkingsociety and cranseds for winning society of the year!

Congratulations to bana and anandhu for their special shout outs at the end for their amazing contributions to our event on the 27th of July!

Only suitable that this awards evening is presented at the same venue our TEDx Cranfield University event will be held in next month!

14/06/2024

Where great ideas 💡 take flight ✈️

TEDx Cranfield University is an independent group of staff, students, and alumni who are acting together to produce Cranfield's first-ever TEDx event!

We are working under an initiative originally thought up by the Cranfield Student's Union, the Cranfield Students' Association. We have now grown into our own independent group led by a current member of university staff and a PhD. student.

We'd like to thank CSA for their support and guidance with the event from ideation to the current day! Not to mention the offer to lend us many materials to borrow for the day of the event and the support from many CSA societies, including the Makers Society and many more!

We are not run by the university, and for most aspects act independently from them, although we have been granted permission by the university's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation to obtain our license from TEDx for us to hold this event. We would like to thank Cranfield University Research and Innovation department for sponsoring the event in the form of a small cash grant and for providing us not only the venue for free, but for also offering us space to conduct our rehearsals and stage build.

We have requested to be clear that we are not associated or supported by the university's PR, events, or marketing team, and we do not represent them nor Cranfield University in any capacity.

However, we'd like to thank the many other departments within the university who have supported and guided us to make this conference successful!

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxCranfield University where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxCranfield University event, TEDTalks live speakers will spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.

We are a 100-volunteer strong team, with an even wider support network from the local area and beyond! Thank you to everyone who has helped us so far and continues to help us in the future! Watch this space to see our pilot event take off!

14/06/2024

Come see us at the Clubs and Societies Awards Evening tonight at 6pm sharp!

We advise you arrive at 5.45pm to avoid missing the show!

Come and celebrate with our clubs and societies at the Clubs & Societies Awards Evening on Friday 14th June at the Vincent Auditorium. Doors open at 17.45 for 18.00 start. Everyone is welcome. Come along and cheers them on!