Futurist and innovator Chris Luebkeman outlines four plausible futures in a public lecture at UNSW. His multimedia presentation is based on the premise that "the future is over sold and under imagined".
The future is over sold and under imagined. That's the premise of a keynote lecture at UNSW on Tuesday 3 November by Dr Chris Luebkeman, the Director of Global Foresight and Innovation at Arup Group, a global engineering and design company.
In a multimedia presentation, Dr Luebkeman will look back at "yesterday's tomorrows" as he outlines some of the leading drivers of change that will affect our future, compiled from thousands of interviews conducted around the world as part of Arup's Global Foresight and Innovation Initiative.
Some examples include: How long will we continue to flush our toilets with drinking water? Are our cities too big? How long can the debt burden be serviced? When will learning Mandarin or Hindi be compulsory? Who controls our free time?
Dr Luebkeman, who is a Professorial Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Engineering, will present four plausible futures for consideration and outline the opportunities each will bring. Following his keynote lecture, he will join a panel discussion facilitated by the Dean of Engineering, Professor Graham Davis.
Panellists are Professor Alec Tzannes, Dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment; Professor Matthew England, Co-Director, UNSW Climate Change Research Centre; and Dr Adrian Paterson, Chief Executive, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
Trained as a geologist, engineer and architect, Dr Luebkeman speaks and writes widely on sustainability and thoughtful design, as well as consulting to some of the world's largest companies. Before joining Arup, he taught architecture in Switzerland, China and the US, and is running a research program at MIT on intelligent homes of the future.
The lecture is part of the UNSW Alumni Brain Food Series, presented by the UNSW Foundation.
What: Free public lecture and panel discussion - Can you imagine the next 60 years?When: 6.30pm, Tuesday 3 November 2009 Where: Law Theatre, UNSW Kensington campusBookings and enquiries: alumni@unsw.edu.au | 02 9385 3279
Media contact: Denise Knight, UNSW Media Office | 02 9385 8920 | 0405 207 685