Science: Speculative Breakthroughs

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rudyrudyrucker [dot] com

Rudy Rucker is a writer, a mathematician, and a computer scientist-—with thirty-two published books. In the 1980s he received Philip K. Dick awards for his cyberpunk novels Software and Wetware. He was a computer science professor for twenty years in Silicon Valley. He is known for his popular science books (on infinity, the fourth dimension, and the meaning of computation), as well as for his novels. He was a founder of the cyberpunk school of SF writing, and also works in the transreal style. Read more »

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rhansongmu [dot] edu

'Robin Hanson is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University. Robin has an B.S. in physics from U.C. Irvine, an M.S. in physics and an M.A. in philosophy of science from University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in social science from Caltech. Robin spent nine years as a researcher in artificial intelligence and Bayesian statistics at Lockheed and NASA, and two years as a health policy scholar at U.C. Berkeley. A long time science fiction fan and discussant, Robin strives for intellectually rigorous analysis of the most important and provocative topics around. Read more »

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allensteelecomcast [dot] net

Allen Steele is a prolific author of science fiction, whose works have received the Hugo, Locus, and Seiun awards and have been published worldwide. His most recent novels have been the acclaimed Coyote series, including COYOTE, COYOTE RISING, and COYOTE FRONTIER. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the Space Frontier Foundation; in 2001, he testified before the House Subcommittee on Space Science and Technology in hearings on the future of space exploration. His topics of discussion include space exploration, futurism, and the history of science fiction.

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jdmusc [dot] edu

I am a neuropharmacologist, director of pharmacology, and co-chair of Reproduction at USC Medical School. I am also an ex-Space Shuttle project director, and have been deeply involved in analyzing Viking life detection data, as well as investigating methane-generating bacteria in arid, Mars-like environments on earth. Read more »

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marcgmilliswowway [dot] com

'Marc Millis is a leading international authority on the search for breakthrough spaceflight: the kind of breakthroughs that could make interstellar voyages practical. His day job is with NASA’s Glenn Research Center, in Cleveland Ohio, where he leads Breakthrough Propulsion Physics research. In addition, he is the Founder and President of the Tau Zero Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to accelerating progress toward practical interstellar flight, which extends research and education beyond that which can be done in government, industry and academia. Read more »