New Mexico State University astronomy Ph.D. student Aman Priyadarshi Kumar has been invited to speak at the 2026 TEDx Albuquerque (TEDxABQ) event this summer. TEDxABQ, an independently organized TED event, pulls together diverse thinkers to share ideas with the power to create change across the region.
The event begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 29 at the Albuquerque Rail Yards. This year’s theme of “Reframe” invites audiences to shift their perspectives and challenge their assumptions.
“I am excited to represent NMSU, solar physics and the experience of being a first-generation student from India who came to the U.S. to study astronomy,” he said. “More than anything, I am excited to help people feel that science is not distant or inaccessible. It can be human, personal and connected to everyday life.”
At NMSU, Kumar works with assistant astronomy professor Juie Shetye to study the dynamic and eruptive atmosphere of the sun. One of his first projects identified small, compact brightening areas on the sun that preceded nearby solar flares by 10 to 45 minutes. The extra lead time provided by this potential precursor could help improve future solar flare warning systems. He also recently received a highly competitive grant from NASA to fund his research on solar tornadoes, through which he hopes to better understand how these massive, swirling pillars of plasma transport mass and magnetic energy throughout the sun’s atmosphere.
As a second-year Ph.D. student, Kumar is applying his TEDxABQ experience to his development as a storyteller in science.
“The TEDxABQ coaching process is already helping me think more deeply about the difference between explaining a topic and sharing an idea,” he said. “That is a skill I want to carry into my academic career at NMSU and beyond in teaching, mentoring students, presenting research, writing proposals and communicating solar physics to the public.”
For Kumar, the “Reframe” theme means seeing something familiar as strange, beautiful and worth re-examining.
“What I love about research is that it does not remove wonder – it sharpens it,” he added. “It gives us new language for something we thought we already understood.”
The TEDxABQ event includes over six hours of curated TEDx talks, live performances and networking opportunities. Tickets are available for purchase here.
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CUTLINE: New Mexico State University astronomy Ph.D. student Aman Priyadarshi Kumar has been invited to speak at the 2026 TEDx Alburquerque event, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 29 at the Albuquerque Rail Yards. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
