Supporting Different Kinds of Minds

Temple Grandin is a world-renowned designer of livestock handling facilities, a professor and autism advocate whose work has fundamentally changed manufacturing design. For an industry built on sensory experiences and complex systems, her perspective is uniquely valuable. Dr. Grandin bridges the gap between technical design and human empathy. Her ability to "think in pictures" mirrors the very work AV engineers do when designing signal flows, rack layouts, and immersive environments. In this session learn about the power of “different minds,” designing for human behavior and gain a better understanding of autism and neurodiversity.

Join this October webinar to learn:

1. How thinking differently can revolutionize an industry

2. Gain awareness of what autism is and what some challenges people with autism may face

3. Gain insight into how innovation and team development can be driven and accelerated by supporting minds of all kinds

Webinar Information

Dates and Times

5 October 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Language

English

Topics

Celebrating Diversity in AV
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Speaker

Dr. Temple Grandin

Dr. Temple Grandin

Designer of Livestock Facilities and Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University

Dr. Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed are located 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. Curved chute and race systems she has designed for cattle are used worldwide and her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behavior have helped many people to reduce stress on their animals during handling. She has also developed an objective scoring system for assessing handling of cattle and pigs at meat plants. This scoring system is being used by many large corporations to improve animal welfare. Other areas of research are: cattle temperament, environmental enrichment for pigs, reducing dark cutters and bruises, bull fertility, training procedures, horse perception of novel objects, and effective stunning methods for cattle and pigs at meat plants.

Moderator

Jenn Steinhardt

Jenn Steinhardt

Design Engineer, AVI-SPL and AVIXA Diversity Council Chair

Jenn Steinhardt, a Design Engineer at AVI-SPL, brings nearly a decade of experience to the audiovisual industry. Her extensive background spans consulting, rentals, sales, service, project coordination, and engineering. Jenn holds dual certifications from AVIXA (CTS and CTS-D).

As the 2024-2026 council chair for the AVIXA Diversity Council, Jenn advocates for an equitable, inclusive, and diverse audiovisual industry, fostering a culture of belonging. She has been recognized in SCN: The Nine and Commercial Integrator’s 40 Under 40. Jenn earned her Bachelor of Science in Media Arts & Design from James Madison University and a Master's in Sociology from The New School for Social Research.

Connect with Jenn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsteinhardt/