Robert (Bob) C. Baron

Program Manager for the Mariner II (Venus) and the Mariner IV (Mars) onboard space computers, Baron spent over 25 years as an engineer, entrepreneur, and executive in the computer industry. A historian, scientist, and author or contributor to over 20 books including Pioneers and Plodders: "The American Entrepreneurial Spirit", he worked at Computer Control Company in that program manager role before joining Honeywell, where he served as Worldwide System's Manager for the minicomputer business.

In 1971, he founded Prime Computer, serving as its first President and Chief Executive Officer — Prime became one of Fortune 500's largest American companies and a worldwide business. Baron also founded and has served as President of Fulcrum Publishing, a Colorado-based book publishing company specializing in fields of conservation, history, biography, Native American writing, gardening, travel, and children's books. He wrote a book on the history of business in America, and has also written and lectured on the development and application of communications technology and its impact on society.

Baron has chaired the American Antiquarian Society and has served as former Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, trustee of the Lincoln Filene Center at Tufts University, and Director of the Rocky Mountain Women's Institute and the Thoreau Society. He has served on the Executive Committee of the World Wilderness Congress and as Chairman of the Board of the WILD Foundation. Baron is based in Colorado.