Robert L. Forward: A Scotland Connection to Tethers, Antimatter, and Propulsion
- Paper number
IAC-08.E4.2.3
- Author
Mrs. Anne Coleman, University of Alabama in Huntsville, United States
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Robert Forward was born August 15, 1932 in Geneva, New York. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1954. After serving 2 years in the Air Force, he worked for Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California and received his master’s degree in 1958 from the University of California. Dividing his time between California and Maryland, he received his Ph.D from the University of Maryland in 1965. Dr. Forward was an aerospace engineer, physicist, inventor, popular science writer, and a science fiction writer. He pioneered the field of gravitational engineering, as well as the fields of smart structures, of ultra-cold neutrons, of antimatter propulsion, of space tethers, and of rocketless propulsion. An inventor with 28 patents, he lived his life with as much enthusiasm as the adventures in his science fiction stories. Forward described his science fiction writing as an effort to teach interesting facets of science. Between real science and science fiction, Dr. Forward left a legacy of adventure for new ideas and for answers to seemingly unanswerable questions. The places that he lived his research-filled life include New York, California, Maryland, Washington, and Scotland. Retired from Hughes Research Laboratories in 1987, Dr. Forward established his company, Forward Unlimited, and was able to work from Reay, Scotland, as well as another coastal spot, Whidbey Island, Washington, from 1987 to 2002.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.E4.2.3.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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