Do parasites rule the world? That’s the question Odum School Professor and Associate Dean Jeb Byers will tackle when he takes to the stage on March 18 as part of TEDxUGA 2016, an independently organized TED event. Taking place from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Tate Center Grand Hall on the UGA campus, TEDxUGA is already sold out, but will be streamed live at TEDxUGA.com.

With 15 presenters drawn from UGA faculty, students and alumni, TEDxUGA is a showcase for creativity, innovation, and “ideas worth sharing.” This is the third year that the Odum School has been represented.

Byers is a marine ecologist whose research interests include the impacts of non-native species on native marine communities and the mechanisms and effects of parasites on marine and nearshore communities and ecosystems, ecosystem engineers, and predicting species’ spread
and distribution in coastal oceans. He is the recipient of a UGA Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, a First-Year Odyssey Teaching Award, and a UGA CURO Research Mentoring Award.

The Odum School was also represented in the TEDxUGA Student Ideas Competition by Jonah Driggers, who is pursuing an A.B. in Geography and an M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development. Driggers, a finalist in the competition, is the executive director for government and NGO relations at the UGA Energy Concept, director of the Roosevelt Institute’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, and head gardener for the UGA Lunchbox Garden and interned with the Office of Climate Resilience in the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Video of previous Odum School TEDxUGA presentations can be found on the Odum School YouTube channel “TEDx Talks Odum” playlist.

For more information about TEDxUGA 2016, see TEDxUGA.com.