{{Short description|American author, numismatist and business executive}} {{Infobox person | name = Richard Jurek | occupation = Business executive | notable_works = ''Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program'' (MIT Press 2014) and "The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader George M. Low" (UNP 2019) | known_for = Space historian, author and collector; marketing executive }} '''Richard Jurek''' is an American author, [[numismatist]], and business executive. He is the author of the book ''The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader [[George Low|George M. Low]]'' and co-authored the book ''Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program''.
==Space artifact collector== Jurek became a aerospace enthusiast and collector of space [[memorabilia]] in the 1970s. He first collected autographed space items among other collectables, eventually focusing mainly on astronaut flown personal mementos and artifacts. His collection includes a large selection of space flown numismatic items, including an assemblage of [[United States two-dollar bill|$2 bill]]s signed by astronauts that were carried while in orbit or during lunar landings during the golden age of space exploration. His unique collection of $2 bills carried by astronauts appear in the online Jefferson Space Museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/blogs/unique-items/richard-jureks-space-flown-2-bills-the-story-of-the-jefferson-space-museum|title=Richard Jurek's space-flown $2 bills - the story of the Jefferson Spac|website=Paul Fraser Collectibles}}</ref> He has also exhibited pieces from his collection at the [[Kansas Cosmosphere]]<ref name="chicagobusiness.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130907/ISSUE03/309079992/chicagoan-amasses-huge-collection-of-space-memorabilia|title=To the moon and back|date=6 September 2013|website=Crain's Chicago Business}}</ref> and the [[Southern Illinois University]] Museum<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum41/HTML/000665.html|title=University Museum (IL): "To the Moon and Back" - collectSPACE: Messages|website=www.collectspace.com}}</ref> His collection has also been covered on [[PBS]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/wsiu-infocus-richard-jurek/|title=Richard Jurek - WSIU InFocus|publisher=|via=www.pbs.org}}</ref> and WGN TV's "Backstory with Larry Potash" program.{{cn|date=March 2021}}
==Space historian== Jurek is the co-author of the 2014 book ''Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program'', which he cowrote with [[David Meerman Scott]]. The book focuses on the use of marketing techniques and marketing agreements between [[NASA]] and private industry to promote the importance of the [[Apollo missions]] to the US public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/thelist/5441230|title=Marketing the Moon|date=9 May 2014|website=Radio National}}</ref> He has provided public lectures on the subject as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-forest/news/ct-lfr-moon-tl-0512-20160510-story.html|title=Lovell joins discussion on marketing NASA's Apollo program|first=Mark|last=Lawton|website=chicagotribune.com}}</ref> The book contains around three hundred images of original ads and marketing materials, cut down from an initial collection of about three thousand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/marketing-moon-space-collectors-retold-story-apollos-success-173105865.html|title=Marketing the Moon: How Space Collectors Retold the Story of Apollo's Success|website=news.yahoo.com}}</ref> Jurek argues that what occurred during the marketing of the Apollo missions set the precedent of the modern interaction between the public and mass media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americaspace.com/2014/10/02/selling-the-space-race-an-interview-with-marketing-the-moon-co-author-richard-jurek/|title=Selling the Space Race: An Interview With 'Marketing the Moon' Co-Author Richard Jurek|date=2 October 2014|website=AmericaSpace}}</ref> For his book he also appeared on the [[Science Channel]]'s television series ''[[NASA's Unexplained Files]]'', as well as the documentary ''The Two Dollar Bill''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/jefferson-in-space/|title=Blog|website=The Jefferson Space Museum}}</ref> He is also a contributor to Air & Space Smithsonian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/duke-ellingtons-ode-first-moon-landing-180954208/|title=Duke Ellington's Ode to the First Moon Landing|first=Richard|last=Jurek|website=Air & Space Magazine}}</ref>
He also served as a consulting producer on the 2019 critically acclaimed PBS/American Experience documentary, Chasing the Moon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/#cast_and_crew|title=Chasing the Moon - Cast and Credit Page|last=|first=|date=2019|website=PBS/American Experience|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>
In 2019 Jurek released the book ''The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader [[George Low|George M. Low]]''. ''Publishers Weekly'' said of the book that, "The result of Jurek's extensive research and careful use of detail is a comprehensive portrait of a figure vastly greater in significance than in name recognition."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8032-9955-9 |title=Review: The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader George M. Low |publisher=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> The Library Journal's review declared the book "scholarly, yet accessible and engaging," and "is as much a history of [[NASA]] as a biography of George Low, and as such is an important contribution to the history of the agency."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=the-ultimate-engineer-the-remarkable-life-of-nasas-visionary-leader-george-m-low|title=The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader George M. Low|last=Richard|first=Jurek|website=Library Journal|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
==Business career== Jurek is the Chief Marketing and Communication Officer of The Inland Group.<ref name="chicagobusiness.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dhbusinessledger.com/article/20160511/business/160519966/|title=Oak Brook executive never lost his passion for Apollo program|first=Kim|last=Mikus|date=11 May 2016|website=Daily Herald Business Ledger}}</ref> Previously, he was a vice president and head of corporate communications at The [[Northern Trust|Northern Trust Company]] in Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-12-15 |title=Illinois State Board hires managers, custodian |url=https://www.pionline.com/article/20040924/ONLINE/409240716/illinois-state-board-hires-managers-custodian |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Pensions & Investments |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurek, Richard}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American numismatists]] [[Category:American marketing businesspeople]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]