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Professor Joseph N. Pelton Print bio

Professor Joseph N. Pelton

The Futurist article Top 10 Forecasts for 2009 and Beyond said

Each year since 1985, the editors of THE FUTURIST have selected the most thought-provoking ideas and forecasts appearing in the magazine to go into our annual Outlook report. Over the years, Outlook has spotlighted the emergence of such epochal developments as the Internet, virtual reality, and the end of the Cold War.
 
Here are the editors’ top 10 forecasts from Outlook 2009:
 
5. There may not be world law in the foreseeable future, but the world’s legal systems will be networked. The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), a database of local and national laws for more than 50 participating countries, will grow to include more than 100 counties by 2010. The database will lay the groundwork for a more universal understanding of the diversity of laws between nations and will create new opportunities for peace and international partnership. -Joseph N. Pelton, “Toward a Global Rule of Law: A Practical Step Toward World Peace,” Nov-Dec 2007, p. 25

Joseph N. Pelton, BS, MA, Ph.D. is Director of the Space and Advanced Communications Research Institute (SACRI) at George Washington University. He is also the founder and Vice Chairman of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. He was the founder and First President of the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), the former Dean and Chairman of the Board of the International Space University, and Editor Emeritus of the International Journal of Space Communications.
 
Joe is the author of 28 books and major research studies in the field. His writings include the multi-book series: E-Sphere, Future View, Future Talk, and Global Talk, the latter of which he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won the Eugene Emme literature award. He is a Member of the International Academic of Astronautics, a Fellow of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, and an associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is also the former head of the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program at the University of Colorado and the former Director of Strategic Planning at Intelsat.
 
He conducts research related to:

  • Development of advanced satellite technology and systems concepts, particularly with regard to antenna systems, orbital configurations, and networking designs.
  • Development of new wireless communications technologies and applications related to broadband urban systems, “smart buildings”.
  • Application of new standards and interoperability networking concepts, particularly with regard to satellite and wireless systems.
  • New satellite applications and services.
  • Space safety standards and procedures.
Joe authored Preparing for the Next Cyber Revolution: How Our World Will Be Radically Transformed — Again!, The New Gold Rush: Riches of Space Beckon!, Space Debris and Other Threats from Outer Space, The Basics of Satellite Communications, Second Edition, Future Trends in Satellite Communications: Markets and Services (Research Report series), The “How To” of Satellite Communications, Wireless and Satellite Telecommunications: The Technology, The Market and the Regulations (2nd Edition), and e-Sphere: The Rise of the World-Wide Mind, coauthored Space Exploration And Astronaut Safety (Library of Flight Series) and Satellite Communications Systems & Technology: Europe-Japan-Russia (Advanced Computing & Telecommunications Services), edited Handbook of Small Satellites: Technology, Design, Manufacture, Applications, Economics and Regulation, Space 2.0: Revolutionary Advances in the Space Industry, The Intelsat Global Satellite System (Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics), and coedited Handbook of Satellite Applications, Global Space Governance: An International Study, Handbook of Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense, and Communications Satellites: Global Change Agents (Telecommunications Series).
 
Joe earned his BS from the University of Tulsa in 1965, his MS from New York University in 1967, and his Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1973.
 
Watch Conclusions by Joe Pelton – Reach to Space Conference 2007: Commercialization of Space. Listen to him on The Space Show hosted by Dr. David Livingston. Read Why Space? The Top 10 Reasons.

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