Joey Eschrich

Featured Contributor: Gregory Benford

March 20, 2013 in Featured Contributors

Gregory BenfordGregory Benford’s resume is suspiciously well-suited for the Hieroglyph Project: he is both a Professor of Physics at the University of California, Irvine and an award-winning science fiction author. Gregory’s novels include Against Infinity, The Martian Race and Timescape. His most recent novel is Bowl of Heaven, co-written with Larry Niven.

Gregory recently collaborated with the editors of Popular Mechanics on The Wonderful Future That Never Was, which profiles some of the most ridiculous, prescient and optimistic visions of the future featured in Popular Mechanics from the beginning of the 20th century through the 1960s.

Gregory conducts research in plasma turbulence theory and experiment, and in astrophysics. He has published papers on a wide range of topics, including condensed matter, particle physics, plasmas, mathematical physics and biological conservation. He has served as a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University and as an advisor to the Department of Energy, NASA and the White House Council on Space Policy.

Many of Gregory’s best-known novels are part of a six-part sequence, the Galactic Center Saga, which depicts an interminable galactic war between organic, sentient life forms and electromechanical life forms. In 1989 Gregory was the host and screenwriter for the television series A Galactic Odyssey, which described modern physics and astronomy from the perspective of the evolution of the galaxy. He has also served as a scientific consultant to NHK Network and for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Image courtesy of AllyUnion, used under CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Thanks AllyUnion!

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Featured Contributor: Paul Davies

March 20, 2013 in Featured Contributors, Hieroglyph

Paul Davies

Paul Davies is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist and astrobiologist, and the director of the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. He is also the bestselling author of many books with shocking and provocative titles, including The Mind of God, How to Build a Time Machine and The Eerie Silence, which explores the scientific quest to find intelligent life in the universe.

Paul’s research interests range from the origin of the universe to the origin of life, and include the nature of time, the search for life in the universe and foundational questions in quantum mechanics. He helped create the theory of quantum fields in curved spacetime, with which he provided explanations for how black holes can radiate energy, and what caused the ripples in the cosmic afterglow of the big bang. In astrobiology, he was a forerunner of the theory that life on Earth may have come from Mars. He is currently championing the theory that Earth may host a shadow biosphere of alternative life forms. Paul also runs a National Cancer Institute-funded research program the Center for the Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology, and has published a new theory of cancer based on tracing its deep evolutionary roots.

Paul is chair of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Post-Detection Taskgroup, so if SETI succeeds in finding intelligent life, he will be among the first to know. He is the recipient of the 1995 Templeton Prize for his work on science and religion, and has twice debated scientific topics with none other than the Dalai Lama. Last but not least, Paul has an asteroid flying through the universe with his name on it.

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Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Featured Contributor: Lawrence Krauss

March 14, 2013 in Featured Contributors, Hieroglyph

Lawrence KraussLawrence Krauss is a cosmologist and theoretical physicist, a leading voice for science education and literacy and the author of acclaimed popular books including A Universe from Nothing and The Physics of Star Trek. Lawrence is Foundation Professor in Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics Department and Inaugural Director of the Origins Project.

Lawrence’s research focuses on the Big Questions: the early universe, dark matter, general relativity and neutrino astrophysics. He has investigated questions ranging from the nature of exploding stars to the origin of all mass in the universe.

Lawrence is a tireless agitator and advocate on behalf of scientific inquiry and education. In 2005 his New York Times piece and personal letter helped to prompt the Catholic Church’s reevaluation of its stance on evolution. His group Help Ohio Public Education, formed to elect pro-science school board candidates, has been wildly successful, and he has banded together with Nobel Laureates, business leaders, scientists and politicians to demand a Presidential debate on science during each election cycle.

You can follow Lawrence’s global quest to obliterate unexamined assumptions and stir up trouble in the most scientifically rigorous manner possible on Facebook and Twitter.

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Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Featured Contributor: Bruce Sterling

March 14, 2013 in Featured Contributors, Hieroglyph

Bruce Sterling is a science fiction author, journalist, globetrotter, professor of Internet studies, design fiction maven and Visionary in Residence at Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination.

Bruce was one of the chief instigators of the cyberpunk subgenre, and continues to be its most eloquent spokesperson. His book The Difference Engine, written with William Gibson, was critical in the evolution and cultural prominence of steampunk. He has written influential works of nonfiction about material culture and commodity production, futurism and hacker subcultures. Bruce delivers an epic state-of-the-planet rant to close each year’s SXSW Interactive conference, challenging the tech industry and everyone else to do a better job imagining and building our future.

Bruce Sterling

Bruce travels the globe launching movements, coining neologisms and disrupting settled ideas about design, reality, and our shared future. You can follow his misadventures with design, storytelling and technology at his Wired blog Beyond the Beyond and observe how he uses Tumblr to create new forms of digital mischief.

During his residency at ASU, Bruce used lasers to carve what he calls “twenty-teens petroglyphs” into Arizona desert rock. The results are on display at his rock Tumblr.

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Image courtesy of Abode of Chaos, used under CC BY 2.0 license. Thanks Abode of Chaos!

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Featured Contributor: Neal Stephenson

March 13, 2013 in Featured Contributors, Hieroglyph

Neal StephensonNeal Stephenson is an author of historical and science fiction, a technology consultant, a video game designer and the principal provocateur behind Hieroglyph. Answering Arizona State University president Michael Crow’s challenge to create alternatives to the dystopian visions that pervade our stories about the future, Neal is helping us pioneer new methods of radical collaboration between the storytellers who dream our future and the scientists and engineers that build it.

Neal is perhaps best known for his novels The Diamond Age and Snow Crash, which presented compelling, socially and culturally rich visions of human futures while also prefiguring the development of major technologies such as social networking, nanorobotics and 3D printers. He also penned The Baroque Cycle, a sprawling three-volume work about the history of ideas in 17th and 18th century Europe, and co-created The Mongoliad, a collaborative work of transmedia fiction produced in collaboration with filmmakers, martial artists, computer programmers and video game designers. His most recent novel, REAMDE, transforms the now-quotidian realm of MMORPGs into a global minefield of criminality, religious extremism and geopolitical intrigue.

Neal studied physics and geography at Boston University, and graduated with a BA in 1981. He has worked part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, which is developing a manned sub-orbital launch system. His most recent triumph is the successful conquest of Kickstarter through his venture CLANG, an epic pursuit of the perfect controller for swordfighting video games.

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Image courtesy of foxgrrl, used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license. Thanks foxgrrl!

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Charlie Stross on Near-Future SF worlds and "Unknown Unknowns"

May 5, 2012 in Hieroglyph, Resources

<a href="http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2012/01/world-building-404-the-unknown.html#more "> Charlie Stross, "World Building 404: The Unknown Unknowns"</a>

Great blog post from science fiction author Charlie Stross about building near-future worlds in SF stories. Stross discusses how authors should balance elements that are continuous and familiar from contemporary society ("known knowns"), elements that are predictable advances on current technologies and social structures ("known unknowns"), and "unknown unknowns," disruptive events or innovations that are as yet unforeseen.

This post could provide a starting point for thinking about guidelines or best practices for writing speculative near-term science fiction stories that are inspiring and radically innovative while still being relatable for their audiences. This would likely call for a balance of the familiar and the unfamiliar, as Stross argues. Stories based on a future that is completely alien probably will not have the effect of inspiring tangible research or enhancing public engagement with science.

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Space as Culture

April 28, 2012 in Hieroglyph, Resources

<a href="http://io9.com/5904969/must-watch-neil-degrasse-tyson-discusses-the-link-between-space-and-culture "> Neil deGrasse Tyson Discusses the Link Between Space and Culture,"</a> Robert T. Gonzales, io9.com

I urge you to watch this video of Neil deGrasse Tyson speaking at the 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. In it, he discusses the concept of "space as culture," emphasizing how space exploration and other large-scale scientific endeavors encourage society to dream about tomorrow.

deGrasse Tyson focuses especially on how icons of scientific progress (in our project's language, **Hieroglyphs**) become imprinted on the collective imagination. Examples include linking the birth of the ecology movement to the photo of the Earth "rising over" the moon taken by Apollo 8, and connecting the iconic V2 rocket and its fins to the design of cars like the 1957 Chevrolet. These icons reflect the public's fascination with large-scale scientific endeavors and also push culture forward, helping us imagine cultural and social futures in the wake of radical technological change.

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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NASA Accepting Proposals for 2018 Mars Mission

April 16, 2012 in Hieroglyph, Resources

<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/budget-woes-force-nasa-redraw-plans-mars-16133857#.T4x2eLNrMR9 "> "Budget Woes Force NASA to Redraw Plans to Mars,"</a> Alicia Chang, AP News

In response to budget difficulties, NASA has issued an open call for proposals from professional scientists and the general public about how to execute a 2018 mission to Mars to return soil and rock samples. The <a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/marsconcepts2012/ "> call for proposals</a> is an attempt to find cheap, innovative ideas for this mission that will also contribute to NASA's longer-term goal of sending humans to Mars by 2030.

What do we think about this idea? Is it realistic? Is NASA being specific enough about what kinds of ideas they need? Is this effort to crowdsource space innovation a promising development?

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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Article on the "Space Craze" in 1920s Russia

April 12, 2012 in Hieroglyph, Resources

<a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/russia-space-craze/"> "The Space Craze That Gripped Russia Nearly 100 Years Ago,"</a> Adam Mann, Wired

Really interesting article about the popular fascination in 1920s Russia with space travel and exploration, which was fueled by popular fiction and film, along with articles, public lectures, and museum-style exhibitions. This craze was integral to Russia's early domination of the space race, largely because it inspired young people growing up during the 1920s to pursue scientific careers and technological innovations.

This is an excellent historical precedent to consider at Hieroglyph, as we ponder how to use fiction and narrative to spark innovation and moonshot thinking today.

Author
Joey Eschrich
Joey Eschrich is the editor and program manager at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies in 2008 and his master's degree in Gender Studies in 2011, both from ASU.

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