The Year Ahead in Invention

January

1/1 Microsoft’s giant touchscreen Surface Hub starts shipping 1/1 The year’s first major meteor shower, the Quadrantids, starts 1/6–1/9 Las Vegas is taken over by technology fans during CES 2016

February

2/2–2/4 Probiotic scientists get a gut check at the Probiota Conference 2016 2/11–2/15 The American Association for the Advancement of Science gathers 2/22–2/25 New smartphones are unveiled at Mobile World Congress TBD Students worldwide compete in the Google Science Fair

March

3/2 Astronaut Scott Kelly returns to Earth after a year in space 3/9 Sky gazers are treated to a total solar eclipse 3/11–3/15 Technologists and musicians descend on Austin for SXSW 3/30 Windows fans get a glimpse of the future at Microsoft Build 2016 TBD NASA blasts the InSight lander toward Mars TBD Samsung is expected to release its Galaxy S7 smartphone.

April

4/2–4/6 Scientists get together for the Experimental Biology conference 4/12–4/13 Mark Zuckerberg reveals his company’s future plans at Facebook F8 4/27–4/28 Android fans tune in to Samsung’s Developer Conference TBD SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket is expected to launch for the first time

May

5/9 Look up! A rare planetary transit makes Mercury visible from Earth 5/11–5/12 Mobile-tech gurus meet for the Apps World North America conference 5/13–5/17 Health experts share their work with the American Association of Immunologists 5/31 Activists urge smokers to kick the habit for World No Tobacco Day TBD Google shows off its newest innovations at I/O 2016

June

6/8–6/10 Sustainability experts take part in the International Conference on Environmental and Economic Impact on Sustainable Development 6/14–6/16 The biggest video games of the year are revealed at E3 TBD Apple gives a sneak peek at its upcoming products at the Worldwide Developers Conference

July

7/10–7/14 IT pros link up for Cisco Live 7/10–7/14 Microsoft opens the doors for its Worldwide Partner Conference 7/12 New Yorkers actually stop moving to gaze at Manhattanhenge TBD TV watchers swarm to Discovery Channel for Shark Week

August

8/4–8/7 Hackers good and evil meet for Def Con 8/4–8/7 Psychologists open up at the 2016 APA Convention 8/7–8/12 Ecologists share a habitat for the 2016 ESA annual meeting

September

9/2–9/7 Consumer-tech companies unveil new gadgets at IFA 9/16 Environmentalists mark the International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer TBD The Google Science Fair winners are honored. TBD Apple may launch its next iPhone and other surprises

October

10/24 Doctors gather for the Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics Conference TBD The Nobel Prizes in science are revealed TBD Apple’s new Mac software is likely to launch TBD Google’s Android update arrives

November

11/1 The ADA reminds us to eat healthy during American Diabetes Month 11/14–11/16 Oncologists share ideas at the American Institute for Cancer Research’s annual conference 11/17 The Tech Awards honor innovators using technology to solve global problems

December

12/1 Red ribbons raise awareness during World AIDS Day 12/13 The Geminid meteor shower peaks TBD Technologists talk wearables and 3-D printing at the Designers of Things conference TBD The year’s best video games get play at the Game Awards

Compiled by Lisa Eadicicco and Olivia B. Waxman