A Reflection - TEDxUTAustin 2023: “How & Why”

Today is the first day of spring and UT Austin’s first day of classes since Spring Break. Almost a month ago, on February 25th, 2023, our 2023 Conference, “How & Why”, exhibited nine memorable speakers, two mesmerizing performances, and an interactive showcase featuring UT and Austin-based startups and organizations. Our team has had the pleasure of working with brilliant individuals and organizations this past year and it was incredibly rewarding to see our hard work come to life. We were beyond grateful for the opportunity to share this experience with hundreds of community members all dedicated to the mission of “ideas worth spreading”.

Our team would like to thank you for following us along this journey and coming out to our conference! Seeing such a great turnout was lovely— so many of you networking, learning, and taking this opportunity to be part of such a curious community. We would like to thank our valued University and corporate partners including The Launchpad within the School of Undergraduate Studies, Texas Development, the Office of the Provost, the McCombs School of Business, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Natural Sciences, and the Cockrell School of Engineering. As for our invaluable corporate sponsors, we would like to extend our immense gratitude to Red Bull and the Wings for Life Foundation, FreeWater, and WhenWhereWhatAustin! Our conference would not have been possible without your support.

The day began with an interactive showcase featuring UT and Austin-based startups and organizations including Texas Immersive, Texas Rocket Engineering Lab (TREL), Longhorn Racing (LHR), Paradigm Robotics, and Texas Visual Arts Collective (TVAC)— all of whom represented what TEDxUTAustin is all about: innovation and creativity. LHR shared with us that the conference was not only valuable for those who attended, but also for those who presented, noting that, “[we wanted to] share with people how engineering is about constantly learning, building, and having fun. That’s why we brought our racing simulator so that people can interact with what we do and just have fun with it.” Showcase was a unique opportunity to connect, learn, and network.

Hudson Gould: “The Myth of Compostable Plastic”

“I’m the most excited about watching the guest speakers. I feel like there is a lot I can learn from them through their successes and journey” said attendee Brandi Nguyen. Our nine speakers brought their incredible stories and experiences to the stage, sharing compelling ideas and challenging perspectives. UT Austin was proudly represented through the three UT students, four UT faculty members, and two UT alumni who delivered talks throughout the day. Talks ranged from STEM topics such as Angela Beasly’s presentation on machine learning and Nanshu Lu’s discussion of e-tattoos and e-skins to introspective topics seen through Gray Garmon’s question of how we can redesign peace and Madison Petaway’s speech on racial equity as a religion. We were also left with inspirational success stories and motivational routines in Dana Le’s speech, “Changing Your ‘What Ifs’ Into Reality”, and Darrion Nguyen’s “Reaching Objectives through Improv”. This diverse lineup of speakers brought compelling and moving stories to the TEDxUTAustin stage and left attendees inspired to ask “how” and “why” in their own lives.

Our stage also featured incredible talent with two beautiful performances by Wednesday Kid and Dance Action. Through nostalgic lyrics, and indie pop and folk rock beats, Wednesday Kid gave us an incredible musical performance while Dance Action created artful storytelling through dance and movement. Both artistic performances stimulated emotion and feelings of intense passion.

Another year of success, learning, and exploration has come to a close. As TEDxUTAustin 2023: How & Why has concluded, we hope our attendees, speakers, and presenters left feeling inspired and motivated to incite action and change in their own lives and in the communities around them. After all, that’s what TED is all about! As TEDxUTAustin transitions to begin our preparation for next year’s conference, our team will continue to reflect on the many ways “How & Why” has left a lasting impact on us all. How will you make your goals a tangible reality? Why are you inspired to take steps to create innovative solutions in your own life?

We look forward to sharing more updates about our “How & Why” conference and any future events and opportunities with you all. Follow us on our social media platforms (linked below) and subscribe to our newsletter, updaTED, to stay up to date with us. If you weren’t able to attend this year's conference, look forward to recordings of all of this year’s talks on YouTube very soon!

Stay ConnecTED!

Kha-Tu Phan