Rick Smolan is a former Time,Life, and National Geographic photographer best known as the creator of the "Day in the Life" book series, the best-selling photo books that captured life in America, Japan, Australia, the Soviet Union, and other countries in the '80s. He is also CEO of Against All Odds Productions, which was named "one of the 25 coolest companies in America" by Fortune magazine.
Smolan's global photography projects combine creative storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List and have been featured on the covers of Fortune, Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report. His books include The Obama Time Capsule,America at Home, UK at Home, Blue Planet Run, America 24/7, One Digital Day, 24 Hours in Cyberspace,Passage to Vietnam, The Power to Heal, Medicine's Great Journey, and From Alice to Ocean.
His latest project is The Human Face of Big Data, for which he and his team collected data from people around the world sharing snapshots of their lives and responding to thought-provoking questions about their dreams, interests, and views. On December 4, 2012, the book was delivered to 10,000 world leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, heads of media companies, Oscar winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Olympic winners, and other notable figures in 50 countries around the world.
In his presentations, Smolan seeks to connect and visualize "big data" into meaningful ways that can have very human implications, such as how SMS system data can help prevent the sale of counterfeit medicines in Ghana or how credit card data can predict a divorce. From his "Day in the Life" photography series to his current project with big data, Rick Smolan is a force for exploring culture in unique ways.