Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
. He has won the
Hugo
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
,
[Who's Getting Your Vote?]
, October 29, 2008, ''Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
'' Locus
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Entertainment
* Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front
* ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine
** ''Locus Award' ...
,
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
and
Nebula Awards. His novel ''
The Postman
''The Postman'' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which he puts on and then claims he is a mail carri ...
'' was adapted into a 1997 feature film starring
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
.
Early life and education
Brin was born in
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in 1950 to Selma and
Herb Brin. He graduated from the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
in
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, in 1973.
["David Brin". ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2018-02-01. Available onlin]
via ''Encyclopedia.com''
. At the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...
, he earned a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
in electrical engineering (optics) in 1978 and a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
degree in
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
in 1981.
Career
From 1983 to 1986 he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the California Space Institute, of the University of California, at the
San Diego campus in La Jolla.
In 2010 Brin became a fellow of the
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) is a technoprogressive think tank that seeks to "promote ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies."Joseph R. ...
. He helped establish the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination (UCSD). He serves on the advisory board of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's Innovative and Advanced Concepts group and frequently does futurist consulting for corporations and government agencies.
Brin has a side career in public speaking and consultation. He appears frequently on science or future related television shows such as ''The Universe'', ''Life After People'', ''Alien Encounters'', ''Worlds of Tomorrow''. He consults and speaks for a wide variety of groups interested in the future, ranging from
Defense Department agencies and the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
to
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
,
SAP
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
and other major corporations. He has also been a participant in discussions at the Philanthropy Roundtable and other groups seeking innovative problem solving approaches.
As of 2013 he served on the Board of Advisors for the
Museum of Science Fiction
The Museum of Science Fiction (MOSF) is a 501c(3) nonprofit museum that has plans to be based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in the spring of 2013 by Greg Viggiano and a team of 22 volunteer professionals with a goal of becoming the world's f ...
.
Personal life
Brin has
Polish Jew
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
ish ancestry, from the area around
Konin
Konin (german: Kunau) is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Prior to 1999, it was the capital of the Konin Voivodeship (1975–1998). In 2021 the p ...
. His grandfather was drafted into the Russian army and fought in the
Russian-Japanese War of 1905. As of 2022, Brin was living in
San Diego County, California with his wife and children.
Works
Most of Brin's fiction is categorized as
hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...
, in that they apply some degree of plausible scientific or technological change as important plot elements. About half of Brin's works are in his
Uplift Universe
The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by American science fiction writer David Brin. A central feature in this universe is the process of biological uplift.
His books which take place in this universe are:
* '' Sundiver'' (1980)
* ...
. These have twice won the
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...
.
Much of Brin's work outside the Uplift series focuses on the impact on human society of technology, a theme which commonly appears in contemporary North American science fiction. This is most noticeable in ''The Practice Effect'', ''Glory Season'' and ''Kiln People''.
Influence of Jewish heritage
Brin's
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish heritage is the source of two other strong themes in his works. ''
Tikkun Olam
''Tikkun olam'' ( he, תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם, , repair of the world) is a concept in Judaism, which refers to various forms of action intended to repair and improve the world.
In classical rabbinic literature, the phrase referred to leg ...
'' ("repairing the world", i.e. people have a duty to make the world a better place) is originally a religious concept, but Brin, like many non-
orthodox Jews, has adapted this into a secular notion of working to improve the human condition, to increase knowledge, and to prevent long-term evils. Brin has confirmed that this notion in part underscores the notion of humans as "caretakers" of sentient-species-yet-to-be, as he explains in a concluding note at the end of ''
Startide Rising''; and it plays a key role in ''
The Uplift War
''The Uplift War'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by American writer David Brin, the third book of six set in his Uplift Universe. It was nominated as the best novel for the 1987 Nebula Award and won the 1988 Hugo and Locus Awards. The previo ...
'', where the Thennanin are converted from enemies to allies of the Terragens (humans and other sapients that originated on Earth) when they realize that making the world a better place and being good care-takers are core values of both civilizations. Many of Brin's novels emphasize another element of Jewish tradition, the importance of laws and legality, whether intergalactic law in the Uplift series or that of near-future California in ''Kiln People'' but, on the other hand, Brin has stated that "Truly mature citizens ought not to need an intricate wrapping of laws and regulations, in order to do what common sense dictates as good for all".
Bibliography
Fiction
The Uplift stories
The Uplift novels are:
*''
Sundiver'' (1980),
*''
Startide Rising'' (1983), – Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1984; Nebula Award winner, 1983
*''
The Uplift War
''The Uplift War'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by American writer David Brin, the third book of six set in his Uplift Universe. It was nominated as the best novel for the 1987 Nebula Award and won the 1988 Hugo and Locus Awards. The previo ...
'' (1987), – Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1988; Nebula Award nominee, 1987
*The Uplift Trilogy (sometimes called the Uplift Storm trilogy):
**''
Brightness Reef'' (1995) – Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1996
**''
Infinity's Shore'' (1996),
**''
Heaven's Reach'' (1998),
Short stories:
* "Aficionado" (1998) was first published as "Life in the Extreme" in ''
Popular Science'' magazine, republished in the 2003 limited-edition collection ''Tomorrow Happens'', and included in Brin's 2012 novel ''Existence''. It is available on Brin's website. "Aficionado" takes place before the novels.
* "Temptation" (1999) appeared in
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...
's anthology ''Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction'' and is set after the events of ''Infinity's Shore''.
''Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe'' (2002), is co-written by Brin and Kevin Lenagh
High Horizon
* ''Colony High'' (February 2021)
* ''Castaways of New Mojave'' (August 2021) – with Jeff Carlson
Other fiction
Stand-alone novels:
*''
The Practice Effect'' (1984),
*''
The Postman
''The Postman'' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which he puts on and then claims he is a mail carri ...
'' (1985), – Campbell and Locus SF Awards winner, Hugo Award nominee, 1986; Nebula Award nominee, 1985 Originally appeared, in substantially different form, as a three-part novella in ''
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publicatio ...
''. Filmed by
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
as a
major motion picture.
*''
Heart of the Comet'' (1986), (with
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reas ...
) – Locus SF Award nominee, 1987
*''
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
'' (1990), – Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1991. Contains many successful predictions of current trends (such as
email spam) and technologies.
*''
Glory Season'' (1993), – Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1994
*''
Kiln People'' (2002), – Campbell, Clarke, Hugo, and Locus SF Awards nominee, 2003. ''
Kiln People'' (published in the UK as ''Kil'n People'') was shortlisted in four different awards for best SF/fantasy novel of 2002—the
Hugo
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
, the
Locus
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Entertainment
* Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front
* ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine
** ''Locus Award' ...
, the
John W. Campbell Award, and the
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...
; each time finishing behind a different book.
*''Existence'',
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...
, (2012),
*''The Ancient Ones'', self-published, (2020),
Graphic novels:
*''Forgiveness'' (2002), – set in the ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' universe
*''The Life Eaters'' (2003), – published by the
Wildstorm
Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...
imprint of
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, art by
Scott Hampton
* ''Tinkerers'' (2010) – discussion of the causes of the decline of American manufacturing
His short fiction has been collected in:
*''
The River of Time'' (1986),
*''
Otherness'' (1994),
*''Tomorrow Happens'' (2003)
*''Insistence of Vision'' (2016),
Other works by Brin include his addition to
Asimov's Foundation Universe:
*''
Foundation's Triumph'' (1999),
and his addition to
Eric Flint's 1632-verse:
*"71" in ''
Ring of Fire IV'' (2016),
Brin designed the game ''Tribes'', published in 1998 by
Steve Jackson Games,
and wrote the storyline for the 2000
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future''.
Nonfiction
On-going:
* Articles in professional journals, including ''
The Astrophysical Journal
''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and ...
'' and ''Information Technology and Libraries'', as well as popular magazines, such as ''
Omni'', ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'', and ''
Popular Science''.
Books:
* ''Extraterrestrial Civilization'' by Thomas Kuiper and Glen David Brin, (1989)
* ''
The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?'' (1998) —won the Eli M. Oboler Award for intellectual freedom from the American Library Association
* ''Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time'' (2006)
* ''Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight'' (2019)
Honors and awards
*
Nebula Award for Best Novel
The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...
winner in 1984
*
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...
winner in 1984, 1988
*
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...
winner in 1985
*
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oaklan ...
winner in 1984, 1986, 1988
*
Hugo Award for Best Short Story
The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction o ...
winner in 1985
* Minor planet
5748 Davebrin discovered by
Eleanor Helin
Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...
in 1991, is named in his honor.
References
External links
*
* David Brin's
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...
Contrary Brin*
*
*
*
;Interviews
at SFFWorld.com(2002-07-19)
at Actusf.com
All of David Brin's audio interviews on the podcast ''The Future And You'' in which he describes his expectations of the future
Video of conversation between David Brinand
James Pinkerton
James "Jim" P. Pinkerton (born March 11, 1958) is an American columnist, author, and political analyst.
Career
A graduate of Evanston Township High School (1975) and Stanford University (1980), he served on the White House staff under both Ronal ...
on
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast on ...
*
Alliance for Progress Encyclopedia, encyclopedia of David Brin's Uplift Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brin, David
1950 births
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American novelists
American futurologists
American graphic novelists
American male novelists
American male short story writers
American science fiction writers
American short story writers
American transhumanists
Analog Science Fiction and Fact people
California Institute of Technology alumni
Hugo Award-winning writers
Jewish American writers
Jewish novelists
Living people
Nebula Award winners
University of California, San Diego alumni
Writers from Glendale, California
Inkpot Award winners