Zafari (’14) shares his “Finest Fury” in TED talk video

Rostam Zafari ('14) recently gave a virtual presentation to TEDxKish viewers in Iran about how constructive fury following the death of a close friend fueled his passion to find a cost-effective and portable way to combat the Ebola virus.

"We've been told our whole lives that fury and anger are bad things, that they are destructive," Zafari says in the video. "But there's a higher level, a higher quality of fury, I believe—a constructive fury. Because to me, the most beautiful fury—is the most focused."

Together with Emory University classmate Brian Goldstone and Dr. Justine Liepkalns (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Zafari made headlines when their team approached last summer's Ebola epidemic by designing the REDS (Rapid Ebola Detection Strips) method. 

"I think we all [have the ability to act as heroes], but too often we deflect it onto institutions because we believe we are not the ones responsible," adds Zafari. "The world, like all good stories, needs its heroes."

The video for TEDxKish was filmed by Zafari's fellow classmates Wesley Samples ('14) and Indra Sofian ('14), co-founders and owners of Elevated Solutions. The Atlanta-based company works specifically with social entrepreneurs and small business owners to market their services and projects through a variety of media.

TED (technology, entertainment, design) is a nonprofit organization that bills itself as sharing "ideas worth spreading" through a strong online presence, at annual conferences and local TEDx events.

Still in the early phases of development, REDS' first prototype recently proved successful. The team is currently set to conduct experiments in early July aimed at optimizing the technology's sensitivity, stability and cost-effectiveness. 

Click here to watch Zafari's TEDxKish presentation, or view the 10:45 video below.