Adria Richards (@adriarichards ) just hosted a session about the influence of science fiction on technology and the internet but it was really about how science fiction inspires and shapes the youth today and fuels their passion in the future.

The concept was that science fiction drives innovations and our creativity and new ideas are influenced by our experience. The world today is losing some its ability to dream, with the pending end of the space program the number of children who will be influenced into careers in science and engineering will be impacted without a driving force to fill that void. Adria asked the question, how can we inspire the future generations of tomorrow?

Being in R&D our ability to recruit and encourage students to pursue their passion in math and science is vitally important. Without the next generation of great engineers and scientists our ability to innovate and come up with the next great idea could be in danger. The session served to remind us that science fiction does more than tell a fun story it provides a new way at looking at the world and inspires minds to think of ideas outside of the box!