Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry to Speak at TEDxMidAtlantic

Online, October 14, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry to Speak at TEDxMidAtlantic
Peter Agree joins TEDxMidAtlantic Speaker Roster

Baltimore, Md. (October 13, 2009)-TEDxMidAtlantic, an independently organized TED conference, is proud to welcome the 2003 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Peter Agre to its speaker roster.

To be held November 5 at the Maryland Institute College of Art, the TEDxMidAtlantic conference is organized along the theme of "The Power of Stories," and will feature 20 of the region's leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers and entertainers representing such diverse fields as technology, entertainment, visual and performance art, design, politics, music, ecology, and education, among others.

Agre won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003 for his discovery of aquaporins, water-channel proteins that move water molecules through the cell membrane. He is the Director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute in Baltimore, Md. In February 2009, Peter Agre was inducted as the 163rd president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the nation's largest scientific organization. Agre has also appeared on The Colbert Report, discussing sound science in politics and the decline of American knowledge of science, among other topics.

"We're honored to have a Nobel Prize winner at TEDxMidAtlantic. Peter Agre rounds out our list of stellar speakers and performers," says Dave Troy, a local entrepreneur who is spearheading the event organization. "Attendees should prepare to have their mind blown."

Confirmed TEDxMidAtlantic speakers include the nation's first Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, National Public Radio Weekend Edition host Scott Simon, NY Times columnist and economics professor Tyler Cowen, and actress from HBO's The Wire and activist Sonja Sohn, among others.

Admission is free, but due to space constraints, all conference registrants must complete the Attendee Application found at www.tedxmidatlantic.com. Additional speakers are being vetted and will be announced as confirmed.

The annual TED conference brings together some of the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED created a program called TEDx where x = independently organized.

About TEDxMidAtlantic
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. TEDxMidAtlantic is operated under license from TED.

About TED
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then, its scope has broadened to include science, business, the arts, and the global issues facing our world. The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives -in 18 minutes. Attendees have called it "the ultimate brain spa" and "a four-day journey into the future." The diverse audience - CEOs, scientists, creatives, and philanthropists - is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Nandan Nilekani, Jane Goodall, Vilayanur Ramachandran, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.

TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson's Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TEDTalks and TED.com; and the TED Prize. TED2010, "What the World Needs Now," will be held February 9-13, 2010, in Long Beach, California, with TEDActive, a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California. TEDIndia will be held in Mysore, India, November 4-7, 2009.

Members of the media interested in attending the event should contact Daniel Waldman at 443-326-3444 or tedxmidatlantic@gmail.com. Although space is limited, we will make every effort to accommodate all requests.