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.

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!)

What does the Parallel Bang mean to your organisation, our community, our society and our world?

World economics, work, education and leisure are being transformed before our very eyes.

In the last decade, we've tripled our knowledge of astronomy, pinpointed the age and size of the cosmos, counted its galaxies, and found the theory that will link all known physics of the universe. The patent rate has more than doubled. We've decoded out genome. We've doubled our life expectancy. We've changed the workforce and the workweek. We've engineered machines a few atoms in size. More than two thirds of the citizens of the western world are now linked to the Internet.

Futurist, technological historian and NASA engineer Dr Jack Bacon presents a compelling vision that human thought - which houses the parallel universe of all the models of the physical universe - is undergoing an explosive new phase of development not unlike the surge that occurred in the Renaissance. This time, however, it's taking less than a decade, and it's on an exponential trajectory that will take humanity to amazing new heights. In these few thousand days we're living through something of astounding significance as computing, communications, medicine, psychology, politics, transportation, agriculture, and world economics all "throw on the afterburners."

Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for the explosive growth of understanding in the 21st century.

For more information contact Sue Mardon at SmartNet, email admin@smartnet.co.nz; phone (03) 3228293 or 0274911283.