environmentalist who was concerned about humanity's role in the depletion of natural resources. "Environmentally conscious, technologically clever, and culturally grand, Paul wanted to change the world through reason, intelligence, and creativity", Shermer wrote of him in an obituary. Appearances MacCready lectured widely at both industry and educational venues, with an emphasis on creativity. Enthusiastic about spreading his message to as many as possible, he would speak to anyone he thought he could influence, including children. Michael Shermer described his delivery as "completely unpretentious, conversing in the same manner whether he was talking to a room full of undergraduate students or Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners." In February 1998, MacCready spoke at a TED conference on the topic of nature versus humans, continuing his environmental theme of "doing more with less". And in February, 2003 he delivered another TED talk entitled "A Flight on Solar Wings" Quotes Publications References External links Biography Perseverance: Paul MacCready. Short biography from MIT Press. Text adapted from Inventing Modern America. MacCready reflects on being stuck and rescued from the side of a cliff in 1993 Photos and videoclip of MacCready's pterosaur replica. See link at bottom of page for videoclip of the machine flying. Paul B. MacCready Papers, Digitized Collection Caltech Archives, California Institute of Technology. Interview with Paul B. MacCready Caltech Oral Histories 1925 births 2007 deaths American aerospace engineers American aviators American atheists American skeptics American humanists Secular humanists Aviators from Connecticut Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut California Institute of Technology alumni Deaths from cancer in California Collier Trophy recipients Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Engineers from California Glider pilots Gliding in the United States Hopkins School alumni Lilienthal Gliding Medal recipients National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy pilots of World War II Yale University alumni 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American businesspeople Members of the American Philosophical Society