...

essor of Astrophysics and Computational Science in the George Mason University School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational Sciences (SPACS). He received his B.S. degree in physics from LSU and his Ph.D. in astronomy from Caltech. After 20 years working in NASA, he changed course and became a data scientist in the then new field of 'Data Mining'. His TEDx talk covers some of the basic ideas behind data mining, and how it influences us every day. If you are a Twitter user, you can follow him there as he actively tweets about Big Data, Data Science, and Astronomy under the handle @KirkDBorne. TEDxGeorgeMasonU Curator: Joe Renaud (@JoePRenaud). Filming: GMU TV and Adam Scott. Production Manager: Jessica Teaford (@jessicateaford). TEDxGeorgeMasonU Team: Andrew Hawkins, Kathleen Wills, AZ Zeller, Brittny Steward, and Myurajan Rubaharan. Major Sponsors: GMU Office of Student Scholarship, and GMU Office of the Provost. About TEDx: 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, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)