2019 Class of TED Fellows Includes Three AAS Members

This announcement is adapted from the TED website:

TED, the nonprofit dedicated to “Ideas Worth Spreading,” has announced the new class of TED2019 Fellows, 20 rising change-makers from around the world selected by open application to deliver a talk on the TED stage this April in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Among the new class of TED Fellows are three scientists working in astronomy and related fields:

• Federica Bianco (University of Delaware) — Astrophysicist and AAS member using an interdisciplinary approach to study stellar explosions and help build resilient cities by applying astronomical data processing techniques to urban science. (Watch her TED talk: "How We Use Astrophysics to Study Earthbound Problems.")
• Erika Hamden (University of Arizona) — Astrophysicist and AAS member developing telescopes and new ultraviolet detection technologies to improve our ability to observe distant galaxies. 
• Moriba Jah (University of Texas at Austin) — Astrodynamicist tracking and monitoring satellites and space garbage to make outer space safe, secure, and sustainable for future generations. He's a member of the other AAS, i.e., the American Astronautical Society.

Left to right: Federica Bianco, Erika Hamden, and Moriba Jah (all courtesy TED)

“We are thrilled to announce the newest class of TED Fellows, who give voice to some of the most exciting ideas we’ve seen in the program’s 10-year history,” said TED Fellows director Shoham Arad. “The Fellows program is committed to using its resources and platform to help scale Fellows’ ideas and impact, and we are so excited to have these Fellows become an integral part of our global community.”

Founded in 2009, the TED Fellows program has 472 Fellows from 96 countries, whose talks have been viewed more than 250 million times overall. In its 10-year history, the TED Fellows program has created a powerful, far-reaching network made up of scientists, doctors, activists, artists, entrepreneurs, inventors, journalists, and beyond — The TED Fellows has also yielded a wide variety of collaborative projects, including PEEK, the social enterprise that recently raised a $1 billion fund to eradicate preventable blindness in the developing world; BRCK, the technology company that builds mobile Wi-Fi routers that can work anywhere, even in the harshest conditions; and Fine Acts, the international collective bringing together artists and activists to instigate social change.

Applications for the 2020 TED Fellows class will be open later this year. Interested applicants should visit the TED Fellows program website for information and updates about the fellowship.