Bob Rogers (designer)

For other persons also named Bob Rogers see Bob Rogers (disambiguation).

Bob Rogers is founder and Chairman of BRC Imagination Arts, an experience design firm. Rogers oversees the creative elements of all BRC projects, serving clients like NASA, Disney, Universal Studios, Ford, General Motors, China Mobile, China Telecom, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Rogers has also served as Executive Producer or consultant on pavilions at world's fairs around the world, including Expo 86 in Vancouver, Expo 88 in Brisbane, Expo '90 in Oaska, Japan, Expo '92 in Seville, Taejon Expo '93 in Korea, Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, and most recently Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

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Industry achievements

Bob Rogers began his involvement in themed entertainment in 1968 with the Walt Disney Company, as a magician in the Magic Shop at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. Founded in 1981, Rogers' firm, BRC Imagination Arts has received over 250 international awards, including two Academy Award nominations and 17 Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) "THEA" Awards for "outstanding achievement in themed entertainment". In 2010, Rogers was inducted into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Hall of Fame.[1] In his induction by IAAPA, Rogers was referred to as ...one of the world's leading creators of content-based visitor experiences for museums, cultural centers and theme parks.[2] and a pioneer of 'experience museums' (such as the) recent critically acclaimed...Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex near Orlando, Florida.[3]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invited Rogers to help develop its master plan for the exploration of Mars as part of their Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group. In September, 2002, Rogers was awarded one of NASA’s highest civilian honors, the NASA Public Service Medal.

In 2009 Rogers received the "Order of Lincoln Medal" in recognition of his and BRC's work creating the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

In the entertainment and design communities, Rogers is an elected member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving as a voting member in the Oscar process; he also serves on the Board of Directors for Ryman Arts, which provides recognition and scholarships to young artists of exceptional talent.

Newsweek has called him the “industry’s resident futurist”. Rogers is a writer and popular speaker on the subject of content-based themed entertainment and is recognized among industry peers and the press as an expert in his field. Rogers has been quoted and interviewed in a wide range of media such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Time Magazine, Fast Company, and the Los Angeles Times. He has been a featured guest on National Public Radio’s program, A Prairie Home Companion.

In 2007 Rogers received the Thea Award for Lifetime Achievement. Each year one such award is given to an individual who is recognized, industry-wide, for their key contributions to the evolution of themed design and entertainment. Past recipients have included film innovator Don Iwerks and Walt Disney Imagineers Marty Sklar, Tony Baxter and John Hench.

Technical achievements

Rogers holds two patents in theater entertainment technologies. He is the inventor of the “Holavision” Theater; a special effect technique, which pairs live performances with “floating” aerial image illusions. Rogers' Holavision shows include Spirit Lodge at Expo 86, Mystery Lodge at Knott's Berry Farm, Animation Celebration at Universal Studios Japan, and most recently Ghosts of the Library for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

References

  1. ^ "Hall of Fame Inductees". IAAPA. 2010. http://www.iaapa.org/aboutus/hof/. 
  2. ^ "Bob Rogers". IAAPA. 2010. http://www.iaapa.org/aboutus/hof/BobRogers.html. 
  3. ^ "IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010: Bob Rogers, Will Koch, Don Clayton, and Daniel Burnham Inducted into IAAPA Hall of Fame". IAAPA. 2010. http://www.iaapa.org/pressroom/attractionsexpo/2011HOFawards.asp. 

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