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Unlearning Home Construction
One of the things I really enjoy about studying emerging technologies is that the field constantly challenges my thinking and forces me to think differently about the future. To this end, I invite you...
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Unlearning New Road Construction
About the only thing I hate more than being stuck in traffic is being cut off by some idiotic driver who is yakking away on his or her cellphone and, thus, isn’t paying attention to the road. It might...
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Unlearning the Hospital
For the past two days I have been in California working with a well-known construction company and architectural firm designing the hospital of the future. Due to the proprietary nature of project, I...
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Unlearning the Bridge
Is there a better way to build a suspension bridge? According to researchers at Sheffield University the answer is "maybe." As this article explains, engineers may soon be able to build a more...
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Unlearning the Grid
I'm in Eugene, Oregon today to give the keynote presentation at the conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Eugene Water and Electricity Board. The gist of my message is that as impressive...
View ArticleNanotechnology in Action: "Solid Smoke"
I speak frequently to officials in the building and construction trades and I’ve telling them about aerogels and “frozen smoke” (or “solid smoke”) for some time. Alas, it’s true that a picture (or in...
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3D Manufacturing's Accelerating Future
Yesterday, it was reported that two students at the University of Virginia had created a 3D-manufactured airplane capable of cruising at a speed of 45 miles per hour. More impressive was the fact that...
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Illuminating the Future
In his wonderful book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, Matt Ridley reminds us that the amount of artificial light produced with an hour of work has increased a staggering 43,200-fold...
View ArticleIn the Near Future, Time Will "Self-Heal" Many Small Problems
In 2003, I authored a book on nanotechnology, The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. In it, I speculated that self-healing materials would soon...
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The Coming "Rift" in the Future of Education
Yesterday, I delivered the opening keynote presentation at the American Technical Education Association’s 51st annual meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota. The title of my talk was “The Ten Trends...
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The Future of Construction is Accelerating
Late last year, the Economist had a wonderful article on the construction industry. The most poignant point was that among all major industries, the construction industry has experienced the slowest...
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A Future of More Beautiful Cities
The future will become more beautiful one step at a time. On April 22, New York City–following on the heels of Denver, Portland, San Francisco, and Toronto–took a small step in this direction by...
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The Future of Construction is Accelerating
Late last year, the Economist had a wonderful article on the construction industry. The most poignant point was that among all major industries, the construction industry has experienced the slowest...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Future of More Beautiful Cities
The future will become more beautiful one step at a time. On April 22, New York City–following on the heels of Denver, Portland, San Francisco, and Toronto–took a small step in this direction by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five Industries that will be Transformed by Biophilia
With the chaos of today’s culture, society is turning to Mother Nature for comfort. The term “biophilia,” as popularized by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson in 1984, refers to “the urge to affiliate...
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