1 item successfully added to your wishlist

0 items successfully added to your cart

There was a problem adding to your cart. Please try again.

Skip to content
product gallery

The Next Big Thing

Innovations for a Better, Smarter, Stronger Tomorrow

by Rob Marciano & James Trefil

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.
READ MORE

pre-order available

Please note: Pre-order and on order items will ship as soon as they arrive in store.

Pages:

304

Published:

May 2026

Format

Hardback

Publisher

National Geographic

ISBN:

9781426223297

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.
$68.00
Add to wishlist
You might also like

You might also like

View all physics & chemistry