Temple Grandin, often considered the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world, will be the keynote speaker for Science and Technology Week 2019 at Illinois State University.
Her talk, “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds,” will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center. Sponsored by the College of Applied Science and Technology, the talk is free and open to the public. A book signing will immediately follow the lecture. The talk is also part of the Illinois State University Speaker Series.
A prolific author, Grandin’s book Emergence: Labeled Autistic stunned the world as it challenged the assumption that an autism diagnosis was virtually a death sentence to achievement or productivity in life. Her life story was made into an HBO feature film starring Claire Danes. The movie received seven Emmy awards, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award. Grandin is sought after globally to speak about her experiences with autism, cattle handling, and the humane treatment of animals. Her TED talk has been viewed by over 4.8 million people.
She is the author of Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism, among others. Her books Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human were both New York Times bestsellers.
Grandin, who holds a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois, is a designer of livestock handling facilities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. In North America, almost half of the cattle are handled in a center track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants.
She has been featured internationally in the media including National Public Radio, major television programs such as the BBC special “The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow,” ABC’s Primetime Live, The Today Show, CNN’s Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, and 20/20, and has been featured in Time, People, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, and The New York Times, among others. In 2010, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people.
Science and Technology Week 2019 is April 8-12 at Illinois State. Events include the Women in Leadership Conference and the College of Applied Science and Technology Academy of Achievement induction.
The Illinois State University Speaker Series seeks to bring innovative and enlightening speakers to the campus with the aim of providing the community with a platform to foster dialogue, cultivate enriching ideas, and continue an appreciation of learning as an active and lifelong process.
