8/12/98

CONTACT: David F. Salisbury, News Service (650) 725-1944;
e-mail: david.salisbury@stanford.edu

SLAC lecture on next wave in information technology

A new wave of sensor technology will shape the decade to come, with very surprising consequences.

That is the thesis Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future, will present from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, in the Orange Room at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Every decade or so a new technology arrives that fundamentally transforms the information technology landscape and overturns our assumptions and creates important new opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs, Saffo says. The 1980s were shaped by the advent of cheap microprocessors, and the 1990s by cheap lasers. The next technology wave will be sensor technology, maintains the well-known forecaster who studies long-term information technology trends and their impact on business, society and culture.

The talk is sponsored by the SLAC Web Users Group. It is free and open to the public. Call the SLAC public affairs office at 926-2204 for additional information.

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By David F. Salisbury