Robert Citron

Robert Citron is the Cofounder and Executive Director of the Foundation For the Future, Bellevue, WA. To fulfill its mission to increase and diffuse knowledge concerning the long-term future of humanity, the Foundation organizes and hosts workshops, seminars, conferences, and symposia that bring together scholars from all over the world for face-to-face discussions on the future.
 
Bob worked for 20 years with the Smithsonian Institution, managing international scientific programs. Beginning in 1975, he founded several successful companies involved in the fields of global communications, worldwide scientific field research, publishing, and commercial space development. He is the cofounder of Kistler Aerospace Corporation, a company that is developing the world’s first reusable rocket launch systems that will place medium-class satellites into Earth orbit and provide logistic support for the International Space Station.
 
SPACEHAB, Inc., a successful public company founded by him in 1984, operates space research laboratories aboard the Space Shuttle, allowing astronauts to undertake microgravity and space systems research, and to provide logistic support for the International Space Station. SPACEHAB modules have been launched on the Space Shuttle 19 times during the past 12 years, and NASA plans three additional SPACEHAB missions in 2006 and 2007. EARTHWATCH, an organization founded by him 30 years ago, has provided over $60 million in grants to scientists to undertake field research with members of the public. Today EARTHWATCH operates more than 100 expeditions each year in all parts of the world, undertaking scientific research to understand the human impacts on our planet and how these impacts might affect the future of the Earth.
 
Bob has won numerous national and international awards for his outstanding leadership and organizational and management skills. He is a two-time recipient of the Smithsonian Institution’s Outstanding Achievement Award for his management of the Smithsonian Satellite Tracking Program and for the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Short-Lived Phenomena. He is a recipient of the National Space Society’s Space Pioneer Award for his invention of the SPACEHAB laboratories and of the Haile Selassie Gold Medal for his contributions to the people of Ethiopia. The latter award was presented to him personally by the Emperor of Ethiopia.
 
Bob has published over 200 articles and lectured throughout the world on subjects ranging from the evolution of human culture to future prospects for humanity during the next thousand years. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the British Interplanetary Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Space Society, Space Studies Institute, American Astronautical Society, The Planetary Society, The Mars Society, Space Exploration Alliance, Space Frontier Foundation, National Space Society, United States Space Foundation, World Future Society, and Union of Concerned Scientists.