Professor Yu-Ling Cheng is the Director of the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto. CGEN was established in 2009 to prepare engineering graduates to meet challenges, responsibilities and opportunities in a globally sustainable future. Under her leadership, CGEN is developing new courses and academic programs in global engineering.

She also leads new global engineering research initiatives, most notably a project under the "Re-invent the Toilet" challenge posed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

At age 21, Ryan dropped out of college (eventually returning to graduate) to try to answer the question, "what do I want to be when I grow up?"

The quest for an answer brought him all over the world. From scuba diving in Honduras to battle rapping in Tokyo, Ryan began realizing that the question he was trying to answer wasn't the right question to be asking. He discovered that there are a bunch of questions to ask and a ton of different answers. But the problem is, growing up, young people are never asked these questions and are still being encouraged to decide what to be when they grow up.

Ryan Porter is the author of the book "Make Your Own Lunch - How to Live an Epically Epic Life of Epicness" and founder of www.RaiseYourFlag.com.'

Natalie has a B.Sc. in Mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary and a master's degree in Aerospace engineering from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. She also participated in internships at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, and at the International Space University Space Studies Program at NASA Ames Research Center, working on a mission to Mars. Natalie currently works at MDA Space Missions (of Canadarm legacy) as a Mission Systems and Operations Engineer.

We are excited to announce the first speaker for TEDxYouth@Toronto 2012 - Dr. Jeremy Friedberg!

Jeremy is a co-founder of Spongelab Interactive. The Toronto-based studio employs unique educational strategies using 2D/3D environments and game-based learning, integrated with intelligent feedback and assessment tools for the education market. Jeremy holds a Doctorate in molecular genetics and biotechnology from the University of Guelph. He has been involved extensively in both public and private scientific education programs, consults and designs for a number of publishers and major interactive educational exhibits, and volunteers extensively in helping promote science education and science careers to high school students.