Eugene, OR — Jessica Green is among 25 newly named, international TED Fellows who will travel to Long Beach, Calif., in February for the organization's 25th annual conference that is themed “What the World Needs Now.” Green, a member of the UO Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, studies microbial diversity, a research area undergoing rapid growth because of new technologies.

TED is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design. TED's annual conference, Feb. 9-13, will draw fellows from both 2009 and 2010. The TED2010 Fellows reflect both geographic and discipline diversity. From Israel to Brazil to Malaysia, fellows represent technology, entertainment, design, science, film, art, music, entrepreneurship and nonprofit worlds. The group includes filmmakers, engineers, artists, scientists and musicians.

TED Fellows each will meet with their peers and get communication training. TED Fellows primarily are 21-40 years old and have demonstrated achievement in their fields. The program focuses on candidates from five regions: Asia/Pacific, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. The TED Fellows program is made possible by support of the Bezos family, Sherpalo Ventures, the Harnisch Foundation, the Case Foundation, private donors and Nokia.

The non-profit organization was founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are available, free at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.