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MITSFS
The MIT Science Fiction Society (or MITSFS) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a student organization which maintains and administers a large publicly accessible library of science fiction, fantasy, and science fantasy books and magazines. History In 1950, the club was instrumental in microfilming ''Astounding Science Fiction'', leading to it becoming a recognized student organization in 1951. In 1961, Anthony R. Lewis became Librarian, and the library growth began in earnest. With the Stratton Student Center opening in 1965, the Society moved out of the old Walker Memorial building to the new building. At about the same time, Erwin Strauss compiled a science fiction index for periodicals from 1951 to 1955, called ''The MIT Science Fiction Society's Index to the S-F Magazines 1951 - 1965''. MIT rules barred the Society from publishing the book because student organizations were prohibited from commercial activity, so Strauss published it himself under the same title. ...
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MITSFS Library 2
The MIT Science Fiction Society (or MITSFS) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a student organization which maintains and administers a large publicly accessible library of science fiction, fantasy, and science fantasy books and magazines. History In 1950, the club was instrumental in microfilming ''Astounding Science Fiction'', leading to it becoming a recognized student organization in 1951. In 1961, Anthony R. Lewis became Librarian, and the library growth began in earnest. With the Campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology#Stratton Student Center (1968), Stratton Student Center opening in 1965, the Society moved out of the old Campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology#Walker Memorial (1916), Walker Memorial building to the new building. At about the same time, Erwin Strauss compiled a science fiction index for periodicals from 1951 to 1955, called ''The MIT Science Fiction Society's Index to the S-F Magazines 1951 - 1965''. MIT rules barred the ...
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Erwin Strauss
Erwin S. Strauss is an American author, science fiction fan, noted member of the MITSFS, and filk musician, born in Washington, D.C. He frequently is known by the nickname "Filthy Pierre". Science fiction and writing Strauss has been chairman of a number of science fiction conventions, such as Boskone 3 in 1966 and RailCon in 1975; and a member of the committee for at least one Worldcon, Noreascon 3, in 1989. He was an early (1964) vice president of the MIT Science Fiction Society. In addition, he is the author of the monthly "SF Convention Calendar" in '' Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction'' magazine, and his flyer racks ("Filthy boards") are seen at conventions all over the East Coast. He is the author and/or editor of a number of books, articles, and fanzines. He is a frequent Guest of Honor at SF conventions, including Arisia, Boskone, and Albacon. Strauss is the creator of the Voodoo board message board system once used at conventions such as Worldcons, WisCon, and Arisia. L ...
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Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James Buchanan Duke established The Duke Endowment and the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father, Washington Duke. The campus spans over on three contiguous sub-campuses in Durham, and a marine lab in Beaufort. The West Campus—designed largely by architect Julian Abele, an African American architect who graduated first in his class at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design—incorporates Gothic architecture with the Duke Chapel at the campus' center and highest point of elevation, is adjacent to the Medical Center. East Campus, away, home to all first-years, contains Georgian-style architecture. The university administers two concurrent schools in Asia, Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore (established in ...
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Whit Diffie
Bailey Whitfield 'Whit' Diffie (born June 5, 1944), ForMemRS, is an American cryptographer and mathematician and one of the pioneers of public-key cryptography along with Martin Hellman and Ralph Merkle. Diffie and Hellman's 1976 paper ''New Directions in Cryptography'' introduced a radically new method of distributing cryptographic keys, that helped solve key distribution—a fundamental problem in cryptography. Their technique became known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange. The article stimulated the almost immediate public development of a new class of encryption algorithms, the asymmetric key algorithms. After a long career at Sun Microsystems, where he became a Sun Fellow, Diffie served for two and a half years as Vice President for Information Security and Cryptography at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (2010–2012). He has also served as a visiting scholar (2009–2010) and affiliate (2010–2012) at the Freeman Spogli Institute's Center for Internat ...
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Durk Pearson
Durk Pearson (born 1943 in Illinois) is a research scientist best known for coauthoring a series of books on longevity, beginning with '' Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach''. Early life While a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was a member of the MIT Science Fiction Society and one of the writers for the early underground comic ''God Comics''. Pearson graduated from MIT with a triple major in physics, biology, and psychology. Career Pearson has patents in the area of oil shale and tar sands recovery, lasers, holography and supplement formulations. Pearson assisted with equipment design and experiments for NASA's Space Shuttle. Pearson is also an International Society for Testing and Failure Analysis honoree. Publications Pearson and Sandy Shaw are the authors of '' Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach'' (, Warner Books, 1982), ''The Life Extension Companion'' (Warner Books), ''The Life Extension Weight Loss Program'', and ''F ...
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Hugo Awards
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine ''Amazing Stories''. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards were originally given in seven categories. These categories have changed over the years, and the award is currently conferred in seventeen categories of written and dramatic works. The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base; the design of the trophy changes each year, though the rocket itself has been standardized since 1984. The Hugo Awards are considered "the premier award in th ...
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World Science Fiction Society
Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during World War II). The members of each Worldcon are the members of WSFS, and vote both to select the site of the Worldcon two years later, and to select the winners of the annual Hugo Awards, which are presented at each convention. Activities Activities and events at the convention typically include (but are not limited to): * Activities to fund fan and external charities ( fan funds auctions, blood drives, etc.). * Art shows presenting paintings, drawings, sculpture and other work, primarily concerning science fiction and fantasy themes. * Autographing sessions, literary beer or coffee meetings, "Walks with the Stars", and other chances to meet favorite science fiction and fantasy professionals. *Awards ceremonies: **Hugo Awards, Astounding ...
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29th World Science Fiction Convention
The 29th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Noreascon I, was held on 2–6 September 1971 at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The chairman was Tony Lewis. Participants Attendance was approximately 1,600. Guests of Honor * Clifford D. Simak (pro) * Harry Warner, Jr. (fan) * Robert Silverberg (toastmaster) Awards 1971 Hugo Awards * Best Novel: ''Ringworld'' by Larry Niven * Best Novella: "Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber * Best Short Story: " Slow Sculpture" by Theodore Sturgeon * Best Professional Magazine: ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' * Best Professional Artist: Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon * Best Fanzine: ''Locus'', edited by Charles N. Brown and Dena Brown * Best Fan Writer: Richard E. Geis * Best Fan Artist: Alicia Austin Notes The convention is mentioned in the preface to '' The Ringworld Engineers'' for the MIT students who pointed out that the Ringworld would be unstable. See al ...
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Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' Computer Shopper'' and was responsible for its monthly Linux column. He stopped writing for the magazine to devote more time to novels. However, he continues to publish freelance articles on the Internet. Early life and education Stross was born in Leeds, England. He showed an early interest in writing and wrote his first science fiction story at age 12. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy in 1986 and qualified as a pharmacist in 1987. In 1989, he enrolled at Bradford University for a post-graduate degree in computer science. In 1990, he went to work as a technical author and programmer. In 2000, he began working as a writer full-time, as a technical writer at first, but then became successful as a fiction writer.
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John Scalzi
John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog ''Whatever'', where he has written on a number of topics since 1998. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2008 based predominantly on that blog, which he has also used for several charity drives. His novel '' Redshirts'' won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel. He has written non-fiction books and columns on diverse topics such as finance, video games, films, astronomy, writing and politics, and served as a creative consultant for the TV series ''Stargate Universe''. Early life, education, and early career Scalzi was born in Fairfield, California, on May 10, 1969. One of three children to a single mother, he grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs of Covina, Glendora, Azusa, and San Dimas. He ...
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Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' (1974) and ''Lucifer's Hammer'' (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him the 2015 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. It also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes the series ''The Magic Goes Away'', rational fantasy dealing with magic as a non-renewable resource. Biography Niven was born in Los Angeles. He is a great-grandson of Edward L. Doheny, an oil tycoon who drilled the first successful well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field in 1892, and also was subsequently implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal. Niven briefly attended the Califor ...
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Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ...
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