Stanford Professor of Communication Clifford Nass, a mediaX grant recipient on numerous industry and academic research collaborations, was one of the speakers at the event. He spoke about the dangers of “chronic multitasking” via electronic communication, and explained his findings from studying the social habits of 3,400 teenage girls. His research reveals that without adequate “face-to-face” social interaction early in life, teenagers have serious social and emotional deficits when they are older.

Derek Ouyang, a Stanford student of the mediaX funded PBL Lab, represented a 100-student team that is currently building a “zero-energy” house for the collegiate solar decathlon. He spoke about the team’s work to build homes that employ features to train inhabitants “to make decisions for sustainability.”

TEDxStanford speakers were not the only ones who had ideas worth spreading. Attendees also shared a word or two at the mediaX photo booth.