Daniel H. Wilson (born March 6, 1978) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author, television host and

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

engineer. He currently resides in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. His books include the award-winning humor titles ''

How to Survive a Robot Uprising ''How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion'' is a semi- satirical book by Daniel Wilson published in November 2005. The book have a table of contents page 130-131 How to treat a laser wound publish ...

'', '' Where's My Jetpack?'' and ''

How to Build a Robot Army ''How to Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, Monsters, and Zombies'' is a semi- satirical non-fiction book by Daniel Wilson published in December 2007. Summary Daniel H. Wilson’s third book is ob ...

'' and the bestseller '' Robopocalypse''.

Early life

Daniel H. Wilson was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, the elder of two children. He is

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Education

Wilson attended Booker T. Washington High School, graduating in 1996. He earned his

B.S. 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 ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

at the University of Tulsa in 2000, spending one semester studying philosophy abroad in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. He completed an M.S. in

Robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

, another M.S. in

Machine Learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

, and his PhD in Robotics in 2005 at the

Robotics Institute The Robotics Institute (RI) is a division of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. A June 2014 article in ''Robotics Business Review'' magazine calls it "the world's best robo ...

at Carnegie Mellon University in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Pennsylvania. His thesis work, entitled ''Assistive Intelligent Environments for Automatic Health Monitoring'', focused on providing automatic location and activity monitoring in the home via low-cost sensors such as motion detectors and contact switches. He has worked as a research

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...

at Microsoft Research, the

Xerox PARC PARC (Palo Alto Research Center; formerly Xerox PARC) is a research and development company in Palo Alto, California. Founded in 1969 by Jacob E. "Jack" Goldman, chief scientist of Xerox Corporation, the company was originally a division of Xero ...

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

, and Intel Research Seattle.

Awards

*''

'' won a Rave Award from ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' and was chosen by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

(ALA) as a "2007 Popular Paperback for Young Adults". *'' Where's My Jetpack?'' was a GQ Media Pick for 2007. *''

'' was chosen by the

(ALA) as a "2009 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers." *'' Robopocalypse'' was a ''New York Times'' bestseller; a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' bestseller; a winner of the Alex Awards presented by the

Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

(YALSA); a Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2011; a nominee for the

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

; and a nominee for the 2012 Endeavor Award. *'' Robogenesis'' was a ''

'' bestseller. *Wilson was the Guest of Honor at the Capricon 33 science fiction convention, held in Chicago.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''A Boy and His Bot'', middle reader (New York: Bloomsbury Children's, 2011) * '' Amped'', techno thriller (New York: Doubleday, 2012) * ''The Clockwork Dynasty'', techno thriller (New York: Doubleday, 2017) ;Robopocalypse # '' Robopocalypse'', techno thriller (New York: Doubleday, 2011) # ''Robogenesis'', techno thriller (New York: Doubleday, 2014) ;Michael Crichton's Andromeda * '' The Andromeda Evolution'', techno thriller (New York: Harper, 2019) This is a sequel to Michael Crichton's novel

The Andromeda Strain ''The Andromeda Strain'' is a 1969 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton, his first novel under his own name and his sixth novel overall. It is written as a report documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating the outbreak o ...

Short fiction

;Collections * ''Guardian Angels and Other Monsters'', short story collection (New York: Doubleday, March 6, 2018) ;Anthologies edited * ''Robot Uprisings'', co-edited with

John Joseph Adams John Joseph Adams (born 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy editor, critic, and publisher. Career Editor Adams worked as Assistant Editor at ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' from May 2001 to December 2009. In January 20 ...

(New York: Vintage, 2014) * ;Stories * "Parasite" (in ''21st Century Dead: A Zombie Anthology'', edited by Christopher Golden, St. Martin's Press, 2012) * "Helmet" (in ''Armored'', edited by

, Baen Books, 2012) * "Freshee's Frogurt" (in ''Diverse Energies'', edited by Tobias S. Buckell and Joe Monti, Tu Books, 2012) * "Foul Weather" (in "Nightmare Magazine", edited by

, 2012) * "The Executor" (in '' The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination'', edited by

, Tor, 2013) * "The Blue Afternoon that Lasted Forever" (in ''Carbide Tipped Pens'', edited by Ben Bova, Tor, 2014)

Comic books

* "Earth 2: World's End" (26 issue weekly series, with Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson,

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 ...

, 2014) * "Earth 2: Futures End" (one-shot, art by Eddy Barrows,

, 2014) * "Earth 2: Society" (7 issue monthly series, art by Jorge Jimenez,

, 2015) * "Spooky Shit" (in "Zombies Vs. Robots: Seasons of War", illustrated by

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and ''Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

and edited by Chris Ryall, IDW, 2012)

Graphic novels

* "Quarantine Zone", illustrated by Fernando Pasarin (DC Comics, 2016)

Non-fiction

* ''

How To Survive a Robot Uprising ''How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion'' is a semi- satirical book by Daniel Wilson published in November 2005. The book have a table of contents page 130-131 How to treat a laser wound publish ...

: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion'', humor (New York: Bloomsbury, 2005) * '' Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived'', humor (New York: Bloomsbury, 2007) * ''

: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Aliens, Ninjas, and Zombies'', humor (New York: Bloomsbury, 2008) * '' The Mad Scientist Hall of Fame: Muwahahaha!'', humor (New York: Citadel, 2008) * ''Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown'', humor (New York: Bloomsbury Children's, 2010)

Apps

* "Mayday! Deep Space", developed with Mountain Machine Studios and voiced by

Osric Chau Osric Chau (; born July 20, 1986) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Kevin Tran in the CW series ''Supernatural'', Vogel in the BBC America series ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', and Ryan Choi in the TV shows set in th ...

Bitsie Tulloch Elizabeth Tulloch (born January 19, 1981) known as Bitsie Tulloch, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Juliette Silverton / Eve in the NBC television series '' Grimm'' and as Lois Lane in The CW superhero television series '' ...

, and

Claire Coffee Claire Elizabeth Coffee (born April 14, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Adalind Schade in the NBC fantasy drama ''Grimm''. Early life Coffee grew up in Monterey, California. She attended the Santa Catalina School ...

(January 7, 2015)

Critical studies and reviews of Wilson's work

;''Press Start to play'' *

Film adaptations

''How to Survive a Robot Uprising''

How to Survive A Robot Uprising ''How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion'' is a semi- satirical book by Daniel Wilson published in November 2005. The book have a table of contents page 130-131 How to treat a laser wound publish ...

'', published during Wilson's final year of graduate school in late 2005, was optioned by Paramount Pictures. A screenplay was written by Tom Lennon and

Ben Garant Robert Ben Garant (born September 14, 1970), credited earlier in his career as Ben Garant, is an American screenwriter, producer, director, actor and comedian. He has a long professional relationship with Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silve ...

, and produced by Mike DeLuca.

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

was attached to star;. The sequel to

, called "

", was also optioned by Paramount Pictures. However, the options eventually expired. In October 2010, ''How to Survive A Robot Uprising'' was re-optioned by

Steve Pink Steve Pink (born February 3, 1966) is an American actor, director and writer. He is the director of the comedy films ''Accepted'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', and the co-writer of the films ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' and ''High Fidelity (film), H ...

(writer of the films '' High Fidelity'' and ''

Grosse Pointe Blank ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' is a 1997 American black comedy action film directed by George Armitage from a screenplay by Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink and John Cusack. It stars Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin and Dan Aykroyd and ...

'') and actor Jack Black.

''Bro-Jitsu''

In May 2007 (before publication), ''Bro-Jitsu'' was optioned by

Nickelodeon Movies Nickelodeon Movies is the film production arm of American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures launched on February 25, 1995 and based in Los Angeles, California. The division has earned n ...

(a subset of Paramount Pictures) and Wilson hired to write the screenplay.

''Robopocalypse''

In November 2009, Wilson sold his novel '' Robopocalypse'' to Doubleday, with Jason Kaufman (editor of

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), '' The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), '' Inferno'' (2013), ...

, among others) coming on as editor. One day before rights to the novel were purchased, Wilson sold film rights to

DreamWorks SKG DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and ...

, with Steven Spielberg officially signing on to direct. On March 7, 2018, Michael Bay replaced Spielberg as director over Spielberg's scheduling conflicts.

''Amped''

In November 2010, Wilson sold his novel ''AMPED'' to Doubleday, again working with editor Jason Kaufman. Film rights to the novel were sold to

Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summit ...

, with

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films '' The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ...

('' Dark City'', '' The Crow'', '' I, Robot'') attached to direct.

''The Nostalgist''

In 2014, Wilson's short story was adapted into the short film '' The Nostalgist'' written and directed by Giacomo Cimini. The short film premièred June 19, 2014, at the Palm Springs International Shortfest.

''Alpha''

In 2014, it was announced that Lionsgate Studios has acquired the distributing rights to Wilson's screenplay for the upcoming sci-fi film ''Alpha''.

Anthony Scott Burns Anthony Scott Burns (born May 9, 1977) is a Canadian filmmaker, visual effects artist and musician. After starting his film career as a visual effects artist and director, as of 2015 he is directing three feature films in pre-production: ''Dark Mat ...

is attached to direct, and Brad Pitt is reportedly involved in production as well.

Television host

Wilson hosted a series on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

entitled '' The Works'', which debuted on July 10, 2008. Ten episodes of ''The Works'' aired, in which Wilson explained the hidden workings of everyday items, including Sneakers, Guns, Beer, Garbage, Robots, Skydiving, Power Tools, Steel, Motorcycles, and Tattoos. He has also appeared as himself in ''

Modern Marvels ''Modern Marvels'' is an American worldwide television series that formerly aired on the History Channel and is currently shown on Story Television. The program focuses on how technologies affect and are used in modern society. It is History's ...

'' and '' Countdown to Doomsday''.

References

External links

'Where's My Jetpack?' Looks for the Missing Future
interview on '' NPR Weekend Edition with Scot Simon'' May 5, 2007 *
Back to the Future
book review in ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

'' May 12, 2007
Daniel H. Wilson Official Website

History Channel's ''The Works'' Official Website

''How to Survive a Robot Uprising'' Official Website

book review in ''The New York Times'' February 14, 2006
Mayday! Deep Space Official Website

''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' April 26, 2006
Nickelodeon strikes 'Bro-Jitsu" deal
''

'' May 16, 2007
Par leads 'Uprising'
''

'' April 26, 2006
Required Reading
book review in ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' January 13, 2008
Robots, Today and Tomorrow
interview on ''

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1 ...

'' February 10, 2008
Survive a Robot Attack
interview on '' This Week in Science'' July 25, 2006
The Nostalgist Official Website

The story behind Robogenesis - Essay by Daniel H. Wilson
at Upcoming4.me
The story behind Small Things - Essay by Daniel H. Wilson
at Upcoming4.me
What Happened to our Moonbases and Jetpacks?
interview on '' NPR Weekend Edition with Liane Hansen'' July 19, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Daniel Howard 1978 births Living people Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma) alumni Cherokee writers Writers from Oregon Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Tulsa alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni American television personalities American male novelists