Author Kevin Ashton to speak at UNC Asheville

From UNC Asheville:

Visionary Technologist and Author Kevin Ashton Speaks at UNC Asheville, August 23

Kevin Ashton, author of How to Fly a Horse, will speak at UNC Asheville on Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. in Kimmel Arena. The talk is free and open to the public and will conclude new students’ Summer Reading Program and start a semester-long conversation on themes raised in the book. First-year students at UNC Asheville have been reading How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention and Discovery (Doubleday, 2015) as part of their orientation. Ashton will speak on innovation as it relates to the transition to college, as well as broader themes.

“Ashton’s book speaks directly to the creativity, innovation and critical thinking at the core of what makes UNC Asheville one of the country’s top public liberal arts universities, and its broad appeal will encourage engaging and vibrant dialogue in small group discussions during orientation in August as well other fall semester programs,” said UNC Asheville’s Religious Studies Professor and Department Chair Rodger Payne, co-chair of the First-Year Experience Advisory Committee.

A visionary technologist, Ashton coined the term “the Internet of Things,” co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT, and has led three successful tech start-ups, including Zensi, which he co-founded and sold to Belkin in 2010. His writing about innovation and technology has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Politico and Quartz.

In How to Fly a Horse, Ashton tells the stories of great creators to show that creating is not magic, but a step-by-step process of identifying and solving problems that takes time, work and tenacity. Each chapter tells a different story about a different person, featuring a variety of disciplines, times and places. The book also addresses the reader directly: in each chapter, Ashton exhorts the reader to use his or her own creative abilities to help make the world a better place.

“Ashton shows us how individuals throughout time have made an impact, a fitting focus for the nation’s No. 1 university for ‘Making an Impact.’ It provides insights into our past, present and future, and can be an inspirational guide as our students embark on their college careers. Our students and our campus community will see that creativity is in their hands, and we welcome our Asheville neighbors to joins us for this exciting event,” said UNC Asheville’s Dean of Students Jackie McHargue, co-chair of the First-Year Experience Advisory Committee.

A book signing will take place after the talk.