The Next Big Thing: Innovations for a Better, Smarter, Stronger Tomorrow

Experience the world's most promising technological innovations and the science behind them in this entertaining photo-rich book.

For futurists and sci-tech enthusiasts, every page reveals advances powering our future, with on-site interviews, deep explainers, and helpful visuals.

What will our future look like?

In The Next Big Thing, meteorologist and science reporter Rob Marciano invites readers to take a journey through the innovations that will change our lives for the better in four key realms of science:

• Energy - How will we power the planet? Marciano ventures inside a nuclear fusion reactor to learn about sustainable, near-infinite energy.
• Electricity - Marciano goes airborne in an electric one-person aircraft--could be tomorrow's Uber!
• Infrastructure - Can we build cleaner cities? Marciano visits Ascent, a timber skyscraper in Milwaukee.
• Information - Is AI friend or foe? Marciano meets android SOPHIA and asks her that question.

Complementing Marciano's reporting, physicist James Trefil unpacks the science behind each innovation and highlights other promising developments: solid-state batteries, quantum computers, 3-D printed homes, and robots.

By the end of this book, you won't just hope for a better future. You'll believe in it--by understanding the bold science and technology making it happen.

Author: Rob Marciano,James Trefil
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: National Geographic Society
Published: 04/14/2026
Pages: 304
Weight: 1.9lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781426223297