Explore Uncharted Ideas with TEDx University of Mississippi

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TEDx University of Mississippi is a registered student organization that won the RSO of the Year Award in May 2025 for producing 10 years of successful events. The group works with Kate Hooper, a TED-licensed organizer in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and the organization's adviser, to provide a platform for innovators, creators and thought leaders to share ideas and spark conversations on campus and beyond.

The organization has published 79 talks, which have received 7.5 million views, said Meredith Anderson, a senior English major from Canton, Georgia, and the group's chief of staff.

"If you find any of our speakers' bios compelling, or if you have ever wondered what it is like being in the audience at a TEDx event, we hope to see you there," said Jorja Carter, a junior criminal justice major from Olive Branch who is the organization's assistant chief of staff.

This year's speakers are:

Waikinya Clanton is a fourth generation Mississippian and first state director of the Southern Poverty Law Center. As she works on pressing issues in Mississippi, Clanton prioritizes collaboration and focuses on building coalitions among grassroots organizations, legislators and community leaders. Her strategic vision aims to empower local communities, ensuring they have the necessary tools and resources to advocate for themselves.

Clanton is the creator of the ANCHORED framework: a systematic approach for people to engage in civic life that prioritizes rootedness over recognition, co-creation over charity and sustained commitment over viral moments. Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the Judge Constance Slaughter Harvey Champion Award and being named one of Mississippi's Top 50 Women in Business.

In 2022, she was selected as one of The Root's 100 Most Influential African Americans, highlighting her role as a transformative figure in her community.

Mark Dysinger is a research scientist at a company that develops therapies for rare disease patients, while taking issue with the label "rare." Dysinger believes that labeling a disease as such diminishes it to a medical curiosity, resulting in delayed diagnosis for patients.

Dysinger has more than 25 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry and holds a master's degree in biotechnology from the University of Maryland University College and a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Maine.

As a rare disease patient himself, Dysinger's duality as researcher and patient provides him with a unique perspective.

Tess Lefmann is a UM associate professor of social work. Her teaching and community work focus on the intersection of physiological stress, social determinants of health and equity.

With experience in maternal and child health initiatives across Mississippi, she is committed to preparing future social workers to foster systemic and individual well-being. Her research in epigenetics explores how stress serves as a biological link between one's environments and lifelong health.

Lefmann believes that understanding stress this way reshapes how we think about health and well-being, not simply as personal achievements, but as reflections of the environments we share.

Samantha Lowrimore, known as CyberSamantha, is an ethical hacker, entropy advocate, founder of PostQuantSec.io and one of the first recognized quantum hackers working to secure life beyond Earth and the quantum horizon.

A cybersecurity engineer, her work begins with quantum-era security and extends beyond, spanning quantum cybersecurity, AI, blockchain, satellites and interplanetary computing. She is helping to build the foundations that will safeguard the next generation of human and machine intelligence across worlds.

Through her research and her pioneering Lowrimore Approach to Quantum Migration, she is redefining how global leaders understand security, resilience and ethics at the edge of the expanding digital frontier.

Dania Tamimi graduated with a dental degree from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. She trained at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and earned a Doctor of Medical Science and certificate of fellowship in oral and maxillofacial radiology in 2005.

Tamimi is concerned about growing anti-science sentiment that has specifically targeted dental X-rays. While most people accept other forms of medical imaging without question, dental X-rays have become uniquely stigmatized despite involving less radiation.

She explores the psychological and social factors behind this resistance, including the perception of dentists as less legitimate health care providers.

As well as running a private practice, Tamimi serves as a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. She is a reviewer and an editorial board member for several distinguished journals in both the medical and dental fields, as well as an author of three textbooks.

Marc Watkins directs the AI Institute for Teachers and is an assistant director of academic innovation at Ole Miss, where he is a lecturer in writing and rhetoric. His work with generative AI in education predates ChatGPT and he advocates approaching the technology's integration in education with curious skepticism.

When training faculty in applied artificial intelligence, he believes educators should be equally supported if they choose to work with AI or include friction to curb AI's influence on student learning.

The Washington Post has profiled his work, and he writes about AI and education on his Substack Rhetorica.

Watkins has spoken to colleges, universities and private organizations across the globe. He has also worked with K-12 schools on AI literacy efforts. As an educator, his work with Open Educational Resources was recognized by Blackboard with a 2018 Catalyst Award for Teaching and Learning.

Robert Welch is director of the university's National Center for Cannabis Research and Education. Welch directs the NCCRE in the following areas: serving as a clearinghouse for cannabinoid science information, spearheading research initiatives with external partners via grant proposals, conducting real world evidence and patient outcomes studies, examining drug-drug interactions of cannabinoid products with pharmaceutical products and developing novel cannabinoid drugs for commercialization.

He will share news of NCCRE's new and unique partnership with the Mississippi Department of Health, the agency overseeing the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program.

Previously, he worked for six years in clinical drug development for GW Pharmaceuticals on cannabidiol oral solution (EpidiolexÒ), which is the first and only plant-based cannabinoid product approved by the FDA for patients with severe, refractory epilepsy syndromes.

Daylan Flowers, a podcaster and senior journalism major from Little Rock, will be the emcee for the evening. "Uncharted" is sponsored by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and Center for the Study of Southern Culture.

To learn more about TEDx University of Mississippi, visit the group's website or follow it on social media @TEDxUnivMS.

For assistance related to a disability, email Meredith Anderson at tedx@olemiss.edu by Feb. 15.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

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, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference offers general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge – without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.

TED began in 1984 as a conference where technology, entertainment and design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through The Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze $6.6 billion in funding for projects that support bold solutions to the world's most urgent challenges – working to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED's many programs and initiatives.

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Top: Gavin Lee (right), a theatre arts major from Tupelo, serves as emcee for the 2024 TEDx University of Mississippi event. The student organization is preparing to host the 2026 edition of the annual speaker series on Feb. 20 in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Submitted photos