The eighth annual TEDxUTAustin conference will take place on March 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hogg Memorial Auditorium. The 2025 theme explores the question “What Now?” — seeking to identify areas of world improvement and encourage the audience to make practical steps towards making a difference. 

Among the presentations and performances, many of the TEDx Talks will be held by members of the UT community. The Daily Texan collected a few of these involvements for attendees to check out.

First Session at 10 a.m. 

Thomas Jesús Garza — Associate Professor and Director of the Texas Language Center 

Garza will present “Human, Humane, Humanities. Why We All Need the H-Factor.” Garza is UT Regents’ and University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor in the Slavic and Eurasian Studies department and director of the Texas Language Center. In 2009, he founded the Texas Language Center and currently teaches Russian language, literature and culture. The talk will focus on his story of being a first-generation Mexican American to attend college and how he was led to pursue Russian studies. 

Jessica Pink and Gavin Greenberg — Founders of Travel World Culture 

Pink and Greenberg will present “The American Dream is Making You Lonely.” After graduating from UT in 2017 and 2018, Pink and Greenberg quit their jobs, took a one-way flight out of the United States and founded their business Travel World Culture, which organizes group trip packages for clients. The talk will center on their experiences living in community-oriented spaces compared to the American individualistic mindset and how that impacts mental health and feelings of fulfillment and overall happiness. 

Juan Dominguez — Neuroscientist, Educator and Academic Leader 

Juan Dominguez, UT vice provost for Academic and Curricular Innovation, will present “The Protective Power of Love in Your Brain.” The talk will center on how love can act as a protective force against someone becoming addicted to drugs, deriving from his personal experiences. 

Second Session at 1:00 p.m 

Josh Bedingfield — Cancer Advocate and Public Relations Student 

Josh Bedingfield will be presenting “I Need You Right Now.” The talk will focus on Bedingfield’s experiences as a caregiver to his sister in high school and how that connects to his journey biking across America with Texas 4000. He will connect his personal experiences to discussing how being there for someone going through cancer treatment can extend their life expectancy. 

Jiabao Li — Assistant Professor, Artist and Biotech Entrepreneur 

Jiabao Li will present “The Secret Superpower of Menstrual Blood.” Li is an assistant professor at UT, a founding director of the Ecocentric Future Lab, co-founder and chief product officer of Endless Health and an artist. Li currently studies menstrual blood and stem cells and how they are able to be diversified into other types, such as neural and heart cells. Li’s talk will center on how menstrual blood can be used to create organs for transplant patients.