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Dr Jack Bacon Futurist and Author, USA.

Jack will be visiting New Zealand 17-27 October 2011 and is available to speak at your conference or work in house with your organisation.

Jack is one of the most requested speakers in the world for topics concerning technology and the factors that shape human society. A noted futurist and a technological historian, he has written three popular books entitled "My Grandfathers' Clock," "My Stepdaughter's Watch," and “The Parallel Bang,” with many thousands of copies sold of each. His lectures have captivated tens of thousands of all ages in thirty-two countries on six continents, and he has appeared on numerous radio and television broadcasts. In his daily work, he is on the management team overseeing the construction and operation of the most complicated technical project in history: the International Space Station.http://www.drjackbacon.com/

A graduate of Caltech (B.S. '76) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D. '84) his extensive career includes roles in the development of many cutting edge technologies, including controlled thermonuclear fusion, the development of the electronic office, factory automation, and the globalization of business. He pioneered the deployment of several artificial intelligence systems, learning his craft at the famed Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

He was the United States' lead systems integrator of the Zarya-the jointly-built spacecraft that forms the central bridge and adapter between all US and Russian technologies on the Space Station. This landmark in technological history was built in Moscow by American and Russian engineers and launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in November 1998.

Jack is a fellow of the Explorer's Club, a member of the AIAA, the National Speakers Association, the International Federation of Professional Speakers, and was a founding member of the board of directors of the Science National Honor Society (www.ScienceNHS.org). Among his numerous awards, he is a recipient of NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal, the Director's Special Commendation, and the coveted Silver Snoopy award-the only award to fly in space. He routinely advises numerous academic programs and institutions, and he is a champion of education throughout the world.

When he's not on the road, Jack cherishes his time together with Kathleen: his lifelong love since high school, found five states away after 27 years apart. (You've gotta love the Internet!)

*The Parallel Bang
Humans have been doubling what we know and what we can do every 30 years since the Renaissance, and after each lifetime of such change, it is always easy for an older person to believe that life is now "too fast".

If you step back and take the broader view, you can soon see that in THIS generation, they might be right. The exponent of our acceleration is showing many signs of picking up in many facets of society, giving new reasons to share in our elders' bewilderment. Economic cycles are ten times shorter than a century ago, manufacturing efficiencies are taking off at greater rates, global communication and digital storage are essentially free, and basic science and technology are making huge leaps that defy the 30 year doubling rule.

If the universe started with a Big Bang, it appears that human understanding of that universe now going through an explosive new creation of its own. A shift in human society is going on today that will totally eclipse the growth increases of the Renaissance, and history will look back at this decade with reverence and awe. We'll explore some of the data that supports this prophecy, and look at what may happen to the world as we go through this "Parallel Bang" of understanding.