Author and futurist David Brin keynote speaker at WebdevShare conference

Sept. 24, 2001

NOTE: David Brin will be available for phone interviews prior to and during his visit to Indiana University Bloomington. For more information, contact Christine Fitzpatrick at 317/278-1818 or cfitzpat@iupui.edu.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Scientist, author and noted futurist David Brin will deliver the keynote address at the annual WebdevShare conference on Oct. 8 at Indiana University Bloomington.

Brin, a former fellow at the California Space Institute and the Jet Propulsion Lab, has achieved recognition as a prolific novelist, essayist and public speaker, many of whose works tackle questions of the future. His novels Startide Rising and The Uplift War have been New York Times bestsellers and have won multiple Hugo and American Library Association awards. A 1997 movie, The Postman, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on Brin's novel of that title. Brin's 1989 ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyber warfare, and such future trends as the World Wide Web. His 15 novels have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Writing for teens, Brin developed the Out Of Time series of novels in which contemporary youth are pulled from today's world and sent on adventures in the 24th century. Brin wrote Foundation's Triumph at the request of the heirs of Isaac Asimov, rounding off Asimov's famed Foundation Universe.

Brin's 1998 non-fiction work, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? examines openness and liberty in the wired age. It won the American Library Association's Obeler Freedom of Speech Award. His essays have appeared in AOL/Netscape's iPlanet Magazine, Yahoo! Internet Life, Analog and the Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems. He has been interviewed on CNN, PBS and NPR. His technical papers cover a wide range of topics including astronautics, optics, cometary astronomy and dispute resolution.

As a speaker and futurist, Brin shares insights into the way technology may affect the future of humankind. In his appearance at the WebdevShare conference, he will discuss the agility that will be required of individuals, companies and institutions as they prepare for the changes and challenges of the 21st century. In light of recent events, Brin says, our civilization needs more than ever to emphasize such traits as resiliency, adaptability and robustness. No amount of "security" will ever replace them.

The WebdevShare conference is the premier annual conference on the development and delivery of Web-based systems, geared for professionals in higher education. The Fall 2001 conference, Oct. 7-11, will mark the sixth consecutive year in which IU Bloomington has hosted the event.

his year's conference, titled "A Web Odyssey," offers a varied program of sessions and workshops devoted to sharing challenges and solutions in university Web development and maintenance. Conference features include Primer Sessions that introduce participants to issues and methodologies, and Professional and Corporate Workshops. Conference presentations cover a range of topics of current interest among university Web developers, including e-commerce, portals, legacy integration management and policy.

Indiana University is one of the oldest universities in the United States. IU serves more than 110,000 students on its eight campuses. The Bloomington campus, with its unique woodland setting, rich cultural traditions, and historic architecture, is considered one of the most beautiful in the United States.

For more information about the conference, and to register, visit the conference Web page at http://webdev.indiana.edu/2001/

(Christine Y. Fitzpatrick, 317-317/278-1818 or cfitzpat@iupui.edu)