I grew up reading classic science-fiction -- everything from Asimov's Foundation series to the wacky yet profound Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy five-book-trilogy by Douglas Adams.
As
the work of Jules Verne showed, science-fiction is not always so far
removed from science-fact. And the books, plus my scientist parents
(both organic chemistry professors), instilled in me a fascination with
scientific discoveries.
Perhaps that is why I still
enjoy interviewing scientists, learning what makes them tick and
figuring out ways to communicate the marvels of their work to a broad
audience.
Here are a few of my favorite science and technology stories I have been privileged to cover over the years:
- In the science fiction film Minority Report, future crimes are predicted with great accuracy and criminals are nabbed in advance of their crimes. It makes for a great movie, but what if pre-crime prediction science worked in real life? UCLA anthropology professor P. Jeffrey Brantingham
is spearheading an effort to identify patterns in crime data to predict
where crime is most likely to occur so that police departments can take
preventative action.
More science and technology stories will be added soon. Stay tuned!