Peter Diamandis

Note: Due to contractual restrictions, this presentation is not recorded or archived.

Watch the half hour Inner Compass interview (episode # 1316)

Dr. Diamandis is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, a non-profit focused on designing and launching large incentive prizes to drive radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. Best known for the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private spaceflight, the Foundation is now launching prizes in four groups: Exploration, Life Sciences, Energy & Environment, and Education/Global Development. Diamandis and the X PRIZE have been hired by the following groups to create incentivized innovation: Google, Cisco, Shell, Progressive Insurance, NASA, US Department of Energy, and the US Department of Transportation to name a few.

In 2008, Diamandis co-founded the Singularity University along with Dr. Ray Kurzweil, serving as the Chairman & Vice-Chancellor of SU. Diamandis is the leading international figure in the commercial space arena, having founded and run many of the leading entrepreneurial companies in this sector, including: Space Adventures, the only company to have brokered the launches of private citizens to the International Space Station; Zero Gravity Corporation, the only commercial provider of weightless, zero-gravity flights to the public and to NASA; and the Rocket Racing League, a cross between NASCAR and pod-racing from Star Wars.

Dr. Diamandis attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he received his undergraduate degree in molecular genetics and graduate degree in aerospace engineering. After MIT, he attended Harvard Medical School where he received his M.D. In 2005, he was also awarded an honorary Doctorate from the International Space University. Diamandis has founded over 15 companies since his first year at MIT. Many of these are non-profits dedicated to creating change in the world. Peter's mission is to guide and inspire the transformation of humanity both on and off the Earth.

His new book, Abundance, co-authored with Steven Kotler, was released by Simon & Schuster in early 2012 and debuted as an instant best-seller. While Abundance boasted its 9th week on the New York Times Best Seller List, Peter announced the development of a groundbreaking new company dedicated to mining asteroids, aptly named "Planetary Resources." The extraordinary venture is backed by key investors such as Google CEO Larry Page and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Google board member Ram Shriram, Director & Deep Sea Explorer James Cameron, Billionaire H. Ross Perot, and former Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi. The story has already hit every major news outlet in the world, and looks to redefine the way in which we mine and think about natural resources.

Presentations at Calvin University

Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think
Part of the: January Series
Thursday, January 10, 2013 12:30:00 PM
Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium

Publication(s) for this event