Dr. John H. Vanston

Chairman, Technology Futures,  Inc.
Co-Director, MiniTrends Project
Author, MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends
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John H. Vanston, Ph.D., is Chairman of Technology Futures, Inc. (TFI) and Co-Director of the MiniTrends Project. He isa a renowned consultant, educator, and award-winning author in the fields of technology forecasting, MiniTrends, technology/market integration, and technology management in uncertain environments. He founded TFI in 1978, building the Austin, Texas-based company into a leading authority in custom research and forecasting in telecom and other high-technology industries. His MiniTrends concept, designed to increase creativity, innovation, and success, helps his clients to find and profit from new ideas, engagement, and creating innovative cultures. The concept is summarized in his award-winning book MINITRENDS: How Entrepreneurs & Innovators Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends.

At TFI, Dr. Vanston has worked with a wide range of commercial, government, and academic organizations, including Boeing, 3M, Chevron Chemical, DuPont, Coca Cola, Kyocer, Exxon, IBM, Kodak, Nortel, Duke Power, Southern Company, Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, Georgia Tech, and the University of Texas. He has managed multimillion-dollar high-tech R&D projects, fashioned a computer-based program for planning and managing complex research activities, and developed a formal system for promoting and targeting innovation activities. He is the leader in the development of TFI’s popular technology forecasting concepts “Five Views of the Future™” and “Technology Advantage Management.”

“Your presentation last week was outstanding! We hope to have you with us again at a future meeting.” —Industrial Research Institute, Inc. 

Dr. Vanston is a popular speaker who gives presentations and does workshops, training, and consulting in the areas of ideation, trends-spotting, forecasting, and management to help companies succeed and thrive. A sampling of his presentation include the World Future Society, the Industrial Research Institute, the Association of Strategic Planners, the University of Houston Futures Studies Program,  and the Society of Association Executives. Dr. Vanston is Chair of TFI’s popular MiniTrends Conference Series. Themes have included “Insight, Innovation & Strategy,” “Translating Emerging Trends into Business Opportunities,” and “The Integration of Profit & Social Responsibility.”Technology Forecasting: An Aid to Effective Technology Management by Dr. John H. Vanston

In addition to the MINITRENDS book, Dr. Vanston has authored or coauthored books including Innovate! Straight Path to Quality, Customer Delight, and Competitive Advantage, Technology Forecasting: An Aid to Effective Technology Management, Emerging Technology Programs, Industrial Electrification in the Information Age, and Introduction to Technology Market Forecasting, Principles for Electric Power Policy.

Dr. Vanston is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the World Future  Society’s World Future Review. Prior to establishing TFI, Dr. Vanston was a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and deputy director of the University’s Center for Energy Studies, an interdisciplinary organization that he helped establish in 1974. While at the University he conducted a number of forecasts and trend analyses in the energy area.

Earlier, Dr. Vanston served as a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army. Dr. Vanston has a B.S. in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, M.S. and professional degrees in nuclear engineering from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
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