Tan Le

In this captivating and inspirational keynote, Tan Le recounts her childhood fleeing from war-torn Communist Vietnam, to her life as an immigrant in Australia, and how those circumstances have shaped her both personally—as the intelligent and driven woman she is today—and professionally—as the CEO of neuroengineering company Emotiv.

At the age of four, Tan Le boarded a boat that was disguised as a fishing vessel with her mother, grandmother, and younger sister in search of a new life. The possibility of being found out, and of pirates commandeering the vessel was a very real and dangerous threat. Against all odds, Tan Le and her family arrived on the shores of Australia’s coast. The four women, from three generations, began shaping a new life together in a foreign country.

Despite immense financial and emotional hardships, and the resistance the family labeled as outsiders faced while trying to assimilate into their new surroundings, Tan’s mother made sure that her daughters always had access to a good education. Tan worked hard, and the label “it can’t be done” became an irresistible challenge to her. It became clear from an early age that Tan had immense potential. At just 16, she was accepted to college and only a few years later she was named Young Australian Of The Year.   

Le goes on to humbly discuss her accomplishments, and how she became a spokesperson, activist, and eventually moved to the U.S. to become CEO of Emotiv: a leading neuroscience technology company that helps individuals all over the world through groundbreaking technological innovations.

Tan discusses the latest advances in EEG brain monitoring technologies and the implications these technologies will have on the future of scientific and academic research, advertising and media, education and training, mobility, defense, communication, automotive and IoT (internet of Things) development, and in the lives of people with mental and other neurological conditions.

This presentation focuses on the revolutionary advances in neuro-engineering, and brain monitoring technologies like the Emotiv headset, that are soon to become ubiquitous in our daily lives and in the future of global brain health.

A Vietnam refugee and Australian immigrant, a young woman from a poor family who attended a prestigious school, and a female working in tech and engineering–you could say that Tan Le has always been an outsider.

In this presentation Tan talks about the moment she realized it was okay to be an outsider. When she realized that outsiderness was an advantage and a kind of freedom. She encourages everyone to be a perennial outsider because an outsider is not locked into the way things are, they look at things with a fresh perspective, and they never stop asking questions. These are qualities that are ripe for innovation, and Tan’s story is proof of that.

Tan also speaks to familial bonds and the strong women who raised her–her mother and her grandmother–whom she credits for imbuing her with the bravery and tenacity that have allowed her to succeed personally and professionally.

Our communication with machines has always been limited to very direct and conscious forms. But when we communicate with humans we observe facial expressions and body language to intuit feeling and emotions from our dialogue with one another.

Tan’s Emotiv brain computer interface technology incorporates human communication cues into human-computer interactions all through the use of a single wireless headset. The device allows a computer to respond not only to what you direct it to do, but also to your facial expressions and your emotional experiences. The headset makes it possible to control virtual objects as well as physical electronics with mere thoughts and a little concentration.

In this captivating presentation Tan Le demos the headset and talks about its far reaching applications in the industries of gaming, robotics, psychology, medicine, and many more.