Dr. James Martin has been at the forefront of futurist thinking for more than 30 years.

He predicted the explosion of the Internet in his 1978 Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, ‘The Wired Society: A Challenge for Tomorrow’ and is described as the ‘father’ of computer-aided software engineering.

Dr. Martin, 70, developed tools to automate software development through CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) and was named fourth among the 25 individuals to have most influenced computer science by ComputerWorld.

He has advised the US and UK governments and was a member of the software Scientific Advisory Board of the US Department of Defense. He also developed SABER, the first commercial online system, and BOADICEA, British Airways’ worldwide booking system.

As well as travelling extensively in his role as a consultant he is also a prolific author. ‘The Meaning of the 21st Century: An Urgent Plan for Ensuring Our Future’ (2006) is the latest in a stable of more than 100 titles, including ‘CyberCorp: The Next Giant Step in the Evolution of the Corporate World’ (1996).

In the largest ever alumni donation made to a UK university, Dr. Martin gave $100 million in 2005 to establish The James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University.

Its purpose is much that of his latest work ‘The Meaning of the 21st Century’ — to identify, research and find solutions to the biggest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.

The school brings together scholars from around the world to “formulate new concepts, policies and technologies that will make the future a better place to be”.