TEDxUniPittsburgh

Team

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Rahul Azad – After receiving a degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Mumbai University in India, I decided to peruse my career in 3d animation. This was in 1998 when 3d animation had just started, at that point there were no schools in India which taught this technology so I decided to come to the U.S to learn about 3d.

I got my Associate degree in Computer Animation from the Art Institute and after graduating got my first job at UPMC as a 3d medical artist. After working at UPMC for about two years, I moved to SanDiego to work for a medical animation firm called ScienceMedia, which created 3d/flash e-learning modules to train sales forces in pharmaceutical industry. I worked at ScienceMedia for four years and then got a job at Legal Arts, a legal firm which created technical and evident graphics dealing with patent infringement and criminal cases for jury deliberation.

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Chris Bell – In a design think-tank at the University of Florida’s Graphic Design studio, Chris discovered an intense passion for collaborative ideation. There, he worked with 16 other designers on a multitude of independent and client-based projects, such as developing his own board game, branding the national food distributor Blue Gill foods, and traveling to Tokyo, Japan to showcase his work in the fashionable Harajuku district. In his spare time, Chris has designed props, animation sequences, and promotional materials for multiple short films at the FSU Film School, and has taught college designers the principles of design — leading a group of more than forty designers to tour world-class studios in Miami, FL (including advertising juggernaut Crispin Porter + Bogusky).

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Suzanne Cake (lead organizer Dec 2009) is a sophomore in international development at Pitt. In addition to helping to organize and host TEDxUniPittsburgh, she is passionate about healthcare in the developing world, and how we might achieve sustainable prosperity worldwide. She grew up in Hershey, PA, and may still be suffering from chocolate withdrawal.

She is on the executive board of One Life, One World, One Peace, is an intern at Global Solutions Education Fund Pittsburgh and can be contacted at smcake (at gmail).

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Alexander Dale (lead organizer Dec 2009) is a sustainability synthesist with an interest in communities and ecological engineering. He graduated from Pitt in 2009 (Engineering Physics + Nuclear Engr.) and is now a graduate student at the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. He is interested in creating communities, particularly in and around Pitt’s campus. To this end, he is working with many groups to create and run an Office of Sustainability to centralize, coordinate and publicize environmental efforts. He also is a member of the Engineers for a Sustainable World National Team, where he is the Director for Communications, Collaborations, and Technology. His other interests include systemic issues (transportation/water/electrical infrastructure), quantifying sustainability, values systems (his TEDxTalk will be up soon), and reading hard sci-fi. If you have questions for him, you can contact him at alexander.t.dale (at gmail).

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Steve Geist – Prior to entering the Entertainment Technology Center, Steve earned his Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Illustration from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design(PCAD). During his undergraduate career, Steve focused on narrative illustration and character design. He attended the Illustration Academy in the summer of 2005 where he was instructed by such illustrators as Gary Kelley, C.F. Payne, Anita Kuntz, John English and Sterling Hundley. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Keith Parkinson Memorial Illustration Award and the Outstanding Graduating Illustrator Award. Steve has been working as a freelance illustrator since graduation. Among his projects, he worked on an award-winning thirty-second commercial for the World’s Fun-est Toy Store (Ephrata, PA), titled “Sid’s Quest.” Steve also spent some time working in the market research and new product development field. While in the field, he helped facilitate brainstorming sessions and put together final project documentation. Steve is now focusing on taking his knowledge of narrative storytelling and illustration into the entertainment field.

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Amy Goodwin – Ever since teaching herself to program when she was eleven years old, Amy has been drawn to technology. In the same year, she also had her first exposure to ancient mythology and became fascinated with the stories cultures tell about themselves. Throughout her school career, she had thought that her two passions were disconnected.

She began her undergraduate career as a Computer Science major, when she realized that she could focus on a field where technology and storytelling come together. She changed majors to join an integrative studies program, creating a concentration for herself in entertainment technology. She combined courses in multimedia production, multimedia studies, video game studies, and computer science. She also completed a minor in Folklore and Mythology.

Amy hopes to work in themed entertainment through her project courses, as well as in her career after she graduates from the Entertainment Technology Center.

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Lu-Yu Huang is an ETC student. He is currently working on the MacArthur Foundation YouMedia Toolkit and Cross-media project. Working with the MacArthur Foundation, [mod]YouMedia is designing a modular tool for building creative digital learning spaces. Last year, project team CPeLevated developed a successful multipurpose space where teenagers can hang out, explore and produce “new media,” and participate in Chicago’s YouMedia mentoring program in the Chicago Public Library. Team [mod]YouMedia strives to bring the success of CPeLevated to communities everywhere, connecting them through shared innovative environments, a mentor community and an online network driven by the content created by teenagers themselves.

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Kim Kiser is a visual artist who earned her B.A. in Studio Arts and Art History from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. Her studies included extensive courses and self-study in traditional art media and art history as well as a semester abroad in Florence, Italy. After completing her degree in May 2007 she worked for two years as the Assistant to the Director at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, PA, before returning to school to work on her Masters of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University.

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Freddie Sulit (lead organizer May 2010) is an Experience Designer, Technologist, and Improvisor. He is currently at CMU’s ETC, and is one of the leads for TEDxUniPittsburgh v. 2.

Freddie was raised in Los Angeles and likes Mr. T, Apple computers, and SPAM Musubi. He spent the last few years as an actor & improvisor in Chicago. You also might have seen him as a teacher at the flagship Apple Store in Chicago or as a Narrator for Scion touring the national auto show circuit. Previously he was the Art Director/Curator of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. Hungry for more? Visit his website at freddiesulit.com.

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David Teot has a deep passion for story telling. Whereas the importance of story telling allows for any subject to be accessible.

David has used this love of story telling to gain access to the post-production world of the entertainment industry. Creating a positive impact on story structure through his knowledge of Editing and Sound Design.

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Cooper Yoo – A pheasant in a marsh may flutter ten times to peck and hundred times to drink, but it does not wish to be captured in the cage.
-Cited from Zhuangzi-

The above proverb was written by the famous oriental philosopher Zhuangzi (莊子). When Sanghyun (known as Cooper) read the book, Zhuangzi, a few years ago, he got the answer to the way of looking at the world and the attitude that he should possess to live in this world. A bird that cannot fly in the cage might lose the reason of living as a bird. He is confident that he has wings that are sufficient of potential and possibility. Now, it’s time to head on to unexplored parts of the world.

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Special thanks to the following people for their incredible support:

Mk Haley
David White
Janice Metz
Caitlin Zunic
Iris Lin
Steve Audia
John Devich
Krishna Pandravada
Anita Nebiolo
Yongho Shin
Sachit Gupta
Brian Yee