Every spring, TEDxOhioStateUniversity hosts an event featuring a variety of the university’s students, faculty, staff and alumni who leverage their expertise to speak on a range of topics — spreading Ohio State’s research and innovation into the community and beyond.

This year’s lineup includes scholars representing every corner of the College of Arts and Sciences — from the arts and humanities to the social and physical sciences. On March 13 and 14, TEDxOhioStateUniversity will host “Horizons,” a TEDx virtual conference. Registration is open, and the talks begin at 1 p.m. on both days.

The event boasts a total of 11 speakers. Those from the Arts and Sciences include:

Tanya Berger-Wolf

Berger-Wolf is a professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. Also a professor of computer science engineering and electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering, her work bridges the divide between computer science and wildlife biology. She is interested in finding computational solutions to address how environmental factors impact social animals and humans.

Briana Brownlow

Brownlow is fifth-year PhD candidate studying clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology. Her research examines discrimination and racism Black Americans face, how they manage chronic racial stress and how it impacts their physical and mental health. Brownlow is completing clinical work at the Early Psychosis Intervention Center and Women’s Behavioral Health, and she was awarded Ohio State’s Graduate Associate Teaching Award for her work teaching undergraduate psychology classes.

Kip Curtis

Curtis is an associate professor of history at Ohio State-Mansfield and a 2020/2021 Faculty Fellow in the Office of Outreach and Engagement. His work combines racial justice and ecologically centered economic development. Curtis created and developed the Mansfield Microfarm Project, a sustainable urban farming network that has grown into nine microfarms in Mansfield.
Read more about Curtis’ work with the Mansfield Microfarm Project here.

Ramona Peel

Peel, a political science lecturer at Ohio State-Newark, is an educator who specializes in synthesizing knowledge and communicating with a variety of audiences. She is lead trainer at the Equitas Health Institute, where she develops and promotes LGBTQ-centered educational content. Peel, who identifies as bisexual and transfeminine, uses her lived experience to help inform and enrich her work.

Coyote Peterson

Peterson graduated from Ohio State with a degree in film studies and is creator and host of the award-winning YouTube channel “Brave Wilderness.” The videos on his channel have garnered over 3.8 billion views around the world. Peterson has spent the last decade growing his passion for wildlife, finding new ways to educate his audience about animals and fostering environmental conservation.
Read more about Peterson and how his time at Ohio State influenced his career here.

Scott Swearingen

Swearingen is an assistant professor in the Department of Design whose work in the video game industry includes popular titles such as “Medal of Honor,” “Dead Space” and “The Sims.” With a research focus in collaborative game design, Swearingen explores the human experience of connection across physical and social boundaries to foster social good through creative inquiry.

Lonnie Thompson

Thompson is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences and research scientist at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. He’s one of the world’s leading experts on paleoclimatology and glaciology who has led 64 expeditions drilling ice cores into glaciers in both the polar regions and high mountains. Thompson’s work around glaciers has enriched understanding of how climate change is impacting ecosystems around the world.

Luther Young Jr.

Young is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology, where his research focuses on race, stratification, gender, sexuality and religion. Currently, Young is examining the impact of homophobia in Black churches. Young is a public theologian and ordained minister who is a member of the boards of directors for two international faith-based LGBTQ organizations.

Ohio State experts featured from outside the Arts and Sciences include:

• Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science in the School of Environment and Natural Resources
• Pelagia-Irene Gouma, professor and Edward Norton Jr. Chair in Ceramic Engineering in the College of Engineering
• Jesse Walker, assistant professor of marketing in the Fisher College of Business