TEDxDayton 2020 gave two Wright State University faculty members a huge megaphone, enabling them to amplify and sharpen their messages about opioid addiction and about engineering and touch new audiences.<\/p>\n
Subhashini Ganapathy, chair of biomedical, industrial and human factors engineering<\/a>, and Christopher Wyatt, associate chair of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology<\/a>, were among the speakers during the virtual program that was live-streamed in November.<\/p>\n Wyatt called it a terrific experience. He said that his lecture on opioid addiction, which normally only 15 graduate students a year might see, received 1,000 views in its first week on YouTube.<\/p>\n \u201cI was especially excited to give a TED talk because it forced me to take a graduate-level lecture on receptor pharmacology and make it accessible to people like my mother and my neighbor,\u201d said Wyatt.<\/p>\n Wyatt said opioid addiction is a massive problem in the United States and he felt that explaining why the drugs are addictive in simple terms was incredibly important. He hopes that his talk helps people understand what causes opioid addiction and why addicts need compassion and help.<\/p>\n \u201cI also wanted people to understand that opioids are important medication and that they can help people living with terrible pain live relatively normal lives,\u201d he said. \u201cI embedded a lot of information into an 11-minute talk, and working with the TEDxDayton organizers helped make it coherent and logical.\u201d<\/p>\n TEDxDayton spreads ideas and perspectives to spark conversation and connections in the community. The event uses TED\u2019s celebrated format of short, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances designed to foster learning and inspiration.<\/p>\n