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Tinker Make Do: Session 2 at TEDGlobal2012

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Click above to watch the session-opening animation.

The extraordinary rise of virtual tools for collaboration and invention have given rise to a new form of creativity: making physical things. From the maker community to hobbyists to open-sourced machined blueprints, there has been a huge movement toward taking the ethos of the open, sharable web and applying it to the rest of the world. In this session we look to the openness of physical things.

In this session:

Ellen Jorgensen is at the leading edge of the do-it-yourself biotechnology movement, which brings scientific exploration and understanding to the masses. She will talk about Genspace, a do-it-yourself genetics lab which she co-founded, and other labs like it around the world. Read what she talked about >>

Massimo Banzi co-founded Arduino, which makes affordable open-source microcontrollers for interactive projects, from art installations to an automatic plant waterer. Read our recap of his talk >>

TEDGlobal Fellow Catarina Mota plays with “smart materials”–like shape-memory alloys and piezoelectric structures that react to voltage–and encourages others to do so too. She’ll show how advances are driven by tinkerers, and how vital it is that they understand how the pieces they tinker with work. Read our recap of her talk >>

Last year, chemist Lee Cronin opened TEDGlobal 2011 with a bold call to define and create new life. He’s back with a 3-minute talk about a new idea: 3D-printing molecules. And specifically, drugs. As he tweets: “By the way we have ‘printed’ ibufropen in my lab. I.e., the concept is working…” Read our recap of his talk >>

Matt Mills and Tamara Roukaerts come from Aurasma, a startup that makes augmented-reality technology for mobile phones. They’ll demonstrate their amazing new technology, and talk about the ways it can be far more than a novelty. Read our recap >>

Antony Gormley‘s work plays with the human form in space. He will talk about his work engaging with the notion of space, in ways that are surprising and beautiful. Read our illustrated recap of his talk >>

Kathy Hinde is a musician and inventor whose latest musical instrument is played by birds. Read about her talk >>

In 2002, Jamie Drummond, Bono, Bobby Shriver and others co-founded Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa (DATA) as a way to help Africa achieve its Millennium Goals. In 2004, DATA launched the ONE campaign, which called for 1% more of the United States’ federal budget to go towards international assistance. It’s fair to say that the excellent intentions haven’t entirely paid off as hoped for and, here at TEDGlobal, Drummond will talk about the future of his high-profile initiatives. Read our recap of what he said >>