Preparing Professional Futurists
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About a hundred students, alumni, and friends of the University of Houston Foresight program gathered for this year’s event on all things Transformation on April 10-11. Participants were welcomed to our new home in Sugar Land, an amazing brand-new, state-of-the-art facility and picked up their swag, featuring t-shirts, stickers, and socks. The weekend kicked off [...]
Guest Contributor: Lynn Chorn Part 1 of 2 Around the world, cities are using AI to be more responsive, more predictive, and less wasteful. Pittsburgh’s Surtrac system used AI to adapt traffic signals to reduce travel-time by 25%, wait-time by more than 40%, and emissions by 20%. In Buenos Aires, the city’s chatbot, Boti, has [...]
Department Chair Barbara Stewart, Nicci Obert, Andy Hines The Department of Human Development & Consumer Science, within which our Foresight program sits, initiated a series of Excellence awards to recognize outstanding contributions to the Department. I am very pleased to announce that our very own star Nicci Obert was honored with a Staff [...]
There’s a gap between doing good foresight work and getting anyone to care about it, and navigating that gap is where the real challenge begins.
In a world shaped by geopolitical tension, technological competition, satellite dependence, and growing rivalry over data and infrastructure, the real question is no longer whether Africa will participate in space, but how it will govern its interests there.
In the aftermath of that storm, the old infrastructure failed. People were left to find their own way. Our community's lifeways then began to be heard differently, their knowledge sought after for lessons, not as artifacts or displays of long-gone heritage.
We're excited to share that Houston-based Kirksey Architecture has hired U of Houston Foresight Alumna Ashley Chiarelli to lead a newly launched Strategy and Foresight practice. Chiarelli brings more than a decade of experience at the intersection of architecture, data, and organizational strategy, and will focus on helping clients make earlier, more informed decisions—from initial visioning [...]
Congrats to all our Fall 2025 graduates! We gathered some local students and alums, friends, and family and had a nice celebration at our favorite spot, Goode's. The Fall grads are Otto Jimenez and Jessica Robbins (walked the stage) along with Mason Henderson, and Catherine Roy. Of course, they are aware that graduating is just [...]
By Dr. Adam Cowart What is the value of bringing futures to life? There are many answers, but let’s start with how encounters with futures can help us move beyond the faux comfort and certainty of the present. John Watson, an early influence in cognitive psychology, wrote a book in 1896 (that’s right, not a [...]
We're offering a brand spanking new IMMERSION WEEKEND! What if you could step into the future instead of just talking about it? We’re thrilled to announce a brand-new immersive: Bringing Futures to Life through Design: Prototyping Possible Tomorrows, led by Dr. Adam Cowart. From January 16-18, 2026, this weekend experience invites you to turn foresight into form: [...]
