High-tech visionary and noted science fiction author
Bruce Sterling will be the keynote speaker for
COFES 2007.
Sterling is best known for his eight science fiction novels, which explore life in future information-immersed culture. Sterling also writes short stories, book reviews, design criticism, opinion columns, and introductions for books ranging from Ernst Juenger to Jules Verne. His nonfiction works include "The Hacker Frontier: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier" (1992). "Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years," (2003) and "Shaping Things" (2005).
COFES, the Congress on the Future of Engineering Software, is an annual conclave in Scottsdale, Arizona for leaders in the creation and use of engineering software, including AEC and GIS technologies. Founded and operated by
Cyon Research, COFES 2007 will be the eighth annual gathering. COFES brings together executives from engineering, design, development, architecture, and technology companies to discuss and explore engineering technology and its effects on business and the future. COFES offers unparalleled opportunities for in-depth and open discussion among industry participants without distraction.
Sterling is currently a contributing editor of
WIRED magazine, a blogger, and activist on the topics of environmental activism and postindustrial design through the Viridian Design Movement. In 2005, he was named the "Visionary in Residence" at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
His latest non-fiction book, Shaping Things (2005) is a "book about created objects," i.e. a lengthy essay about object design, speculating how we will move from the age of products and gizmos to the age of "spimes" -- a Sterling neologism which refers to the convergence of remote identification, GPS, CAD, rapid prototyping, data mining, and recycling. The 150-pages book covers issues like "intelligent things" (spiked with RFID-tags), sustainability, rapid fabrication, and mass customization.
Sterling has appeared on ABC's
Nightline, BBC's
The Late Show, CBC's
Morningside, on MTV and TechTV, and in
Time,
Newsweek,
The Wall Street Journal, the
New York Times,
Fortune,
Nature,
I.D.,
Metropolis,
Technology Review,
Der Spiegel,
La Republica, and many other venues.
"I am delighted to announce that Bruce Sterling has agreed to be our keynote speaker at COFES 2007," says Joel Orr, Cyon Research and COFES cofounder. "Bruce is an unusual combination: A visionary with feet on the ground. A guy who 'gets' the world, hip as they come, yet genuinely wants to help. He is profoundly knowledgeable about design and is IT-competent, and therein lies his ability to speak comprehensibly to our community."
Cyon Research Corporation is a provider of analysis and consulting for engineering technology markets. Cyon Research provides key information, research, analysis, and consulting to its clients worldwide. COFES: The Congress on the Future of Engineering Software is Cyon Research's primary event, and explores investments necessary today to take advantage of—and profit from—future technologies.
--From a press release