2007 Speaker Biographies
Richard L. Alstatt (Hawk) - NASA Radiation Effects Engineer
Richard L. “Hawk” Altstatt models space environments and performs radiation effects design for NASA. He received an MS in Nuclear Engineering, specializing in Plasma Physics fire) and Material Science (burning stuff) from NCSU in 1996 and an MS in Thermal Mechanics (fire again) and Instrumentation (sticking stuff in fire) from UT Space Institute in 1992. NASA work and publications include the International Leonid Meteor Shower Campaigns, the STS-107 investigation, the Hubble Telescope, the Chandra Space Telescope, the Solar Sail, the International Space Station, and the Crew Exploration Vehicle. Hawk teaches rapier, martial arts, and Eagle Claw Tai Chi, tells a good story, and is one of the world's leading experts on catching stuff on fire.
A.C. Charania - Senior Futurist
Mr. A.C. Charania is Senior Futurist at SpaceWorks Engineering, Inc. (SEI). His areas of expertise include general space system engineering design with a specialization in space commercialization and economic modeling. Other areas of expertise include planetary defense technology and policy issues along with far term technology impact assessment and prioritization.
He has specific experience in:
- Emerging space business design and strategy formulation
- Flight and ground systems life cycle cost estimating (non-recurring and recurring)
- Future space market assessment using techniques such as agent-based modeling
- Future venture due diligence
- Market forecasting for emerging space markets
- Space industry ROI analysis using probabilistic simulation techniques
- Technology investment cost-to-benefit assessments
He has supported cost estimation and economic analysis for future hybrid launch systems, new reusable launch vehicles, new launch facilities, space-based power satellites, and deep-space missions. Additionally, he specializes in helping private and entrepreneurial clients determine the value of emerging space markets, including commercial space transportation, commercial space station resupply, personal spaceflight (suborbital and orbital), and space-based propellant stations.
Examples of projects he has led at SpaceWorks Engineering, Inc. (SEI) include a NASA-funded study to examine the economic development of space using agent-based modeling (including the role of emerging companies in various new markets such as sub-orbital space tourism and International Space Station support), a planetary defense concept using swarms of robotic spacecraft to alter the course of an earth-bound asteroid (the "MADMEN" concept), and a planetary telecommunication network on Mars based upon reflecting signals off of meteor trails in the atmosphere. He has been a NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts (NIAC) fellow for such previous work. In addition to these specific projects, Mr. Charania has performed economic and operations/safety analysis of multiple launch vehicle concepts studies ranging from heavy-lift launch vehicles to military space planes. He has also been involved in studies related to NASA's implementation of the President's Vision for Space Exploration.
In his previous position at Futron Corporation, he worked on economic modeling of Space Solar Power (SSP) architecture. In his previous role at Accenture's (formerly Andersen Consulting) Telecommunications Industry Group he formulated strategies to address future concepts of the "network" as applied to comprehensive strategic technology assessments of the terrestrial telecommunications marketplace; examining both markets (long distance, local access, Internet, Intranet, and E-Commerce) and technologies (ATM, AIN, ISDN, and xDSL).
Mr. Charania holds an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (with a concentration in systems design and optimization), a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.A. in Economics/Mathematics from Emory University. He has written over 20 technical papers and has presented work at multiple domestic and international conferences. He is currently a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a Member of the AIAA Economics Technical Committee (TC), and a member of the Space Power Association/Sunsat Energy Council.
Stephen Fleming - Alt. Space Industry Investor & Chief Commercialization Officer - GA Tech
An Atlanta native and fifth-generation Georgian, Mr. Fleming began his career as an Associate Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1979 while still a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating with a degree in theoretical physics from Georgia Tech in 1983 (valedictorian, summa cum laude), Stephen joined Northern Telecom, which was then one of the leading optical fiber manufacturers in the world.
In 1986, Mr. Fleming was recruited to join a new division of Northern Telecom, focusing on the nascent broadband marketplace. This move involved a promotion from engineering into product management. After two years, Stephen accepted an opportunity to work with LICOM, a venture-funded startup in the Dulles Corridor outside Washington, D.C.
LICOM raised $22 million of venture capital and built an award-winning fiber optic multiplexer for the telco carrier marketplace. LICOM was acquired by a manufacturer of T1 multiplexing equipment in 1989. Mr. Fleming returned to Northern Telecom as a director in the Eastern Sales Region and after two years he was asked to relocate to the U.S. headquarters in Nashville as Director of Strategic Marketing for all of Nortel's broadband products. Eventually being promoted to Associate VP of Marketing for Broadband Access.
In 1994, Mr. Fleming was approached by the founder of Alliance Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Atlanta. He helped complete fundraising for ATV-I (which closed at $35 million under management), and was instrumental in raising ATV-II ($75 million in 1998) and ATV-III ($150 million in 2000). During his time at ATV, Mr. Fleming made 18 investments, of which only four ended up being written off. Mr. Fleming was personally responsible for the investment of $65 million over eight years.
Mr. Fleming kept his ties to the Atlanta technology community, becoming involved in the state of Georgia's high technology public policy debates and served on the board of directors for the Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology. He also continued his close relationship with Georgia Tech, endowing a professorship and serving on advisory boards for the College of Computing, the College of Sciences, and the College of Management.
Stephen left ATV in early 2002 and for the next two years he focused on consulting work and personal angel investments, including XCOR Aerospace and other space-related startups. He also accepted a part-time position as an advisor to the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech. Also at Georgia Tech, Mr. Fleming taught New Venture Creation, for the University's MBA program. He continues to periodically teach classes in several departments at Georgia Tech.
In mid-2003, Stephen helped organize Seraph Group, an early stage venture capital firm that is comprised of investors who are successful business leaders and entrepreneurs. He currently represents Seraph as a board observer on three investments.
Based on his work in the 'alt.space' community, Mr. Fleming was invited to testify before the President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy (the "Aldridge Commission") in March 2004.
In May 2005, Stephen accepted a position at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, as Chief Commercialization Officer. His appointment led a reorganization designed to streamline the handling of intellectual property, accelerate the licensing of technology and make the Institute’s resources more readily accessible to business and industry.
Mr. Fleming enjoys music and reading and declares, ". . .his house teetering under the weight of several thousand books". He serves on the Board of Trustees of Tech High School, a charter high school emphasizing science, math, and technology in urban Atlanta. He is a frequent public speaker, discussing various topics to a wide variety of organizations. Mr. Fleming lives with his wife and 'miscellaneous cats underfoot', in mid-town Atlanta.
Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr. - Robot Designer
Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr. designs intelligent machines and emotional robots. His research explores the relationship of memory, emotion, and context in humans, animals and machines, and uses findings from cognitive science to design artificial intelligences that better meet human needs. On his first trip to the MDRS he will serve as computer technican and will collect exploratory observations to determine the feasibility of an AI crew advisory tool.
He received his PhD in Computer Science at Georgia Tech, where his work in contextual memory retrieval later grew into the kernel of a commercial information retrieval engine at Enkia Corporation. With the same team of researchers, he also worked with Yamaha Motor Corporation to develop an emotional long term memory for a robot pet. This work fed his standing interest in the convergence of narrative, art and AI in computer games. Dr. Francis is employed as a senior software developer at Scientific Technologies Corporation, where he works with the PHIN VADS Enterprise Vocabulary team to improve how computer systems store, maintain and communicate vocabularies for public health. Dr. Francis also lectures on artificial intelligence and public health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
In addition to being a computer scientist, Anthony is also a science fiction author, comic book creator, and martial artist. He has one published short story and writes, draws and produces Fanu Fiku, an anime-inspired science fiction webcomic. Anthony is also a third degree brown belt in Taido, an acrobatic Japanese martial art. When time permits, Anthony also enjoys running, biking, improv, scuba, rock climbing, camping, reading, and cooking Lebanese food.
Dr. Stephen Granade - Physicist/Senior Scientist & DragonCon Tech Ops
Dr. Stephen Granade is a senior scientist who specializes in space-based sensors. He worked with NASA on the Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS), which measures the distance from a spacecraft to a target satellite, so that the spacecraft can dock gently with the satellite. When AVGS was first tested on orbit as part of the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology mission, the sensor guided the spacecraft right to the satellite, where the two promptly collided.
Undaunted, NASA and DARPA included AVGS in their Orbital Express mission. Orbital Express was to demonstrate a spacecraft docking with a satellite without a human guiding it. This time, no spacecraft were harmed in the process, and the spacecraft was able to transfer fuel and new computers to the satellite. This was the first such on-orbit transfer of fuel and supplies without a person guiding the spacecraft, and will hopefully let NASA and other space organizations keep satellites flying longer.
Currently he's working on a video-based sensor to measure Hubble's location and orientation that will, NASA willing, be tested during a Shuttle Flight in 2008.
His PhD research was on trapping and cooling neutral atoms to nearly absolute zero by using really powerful lasers, vaccum systems, and a fair amount of Mountain Dew. During that research he only set fire to himself once, shocked himself twice, and still has two working eyes.
Stephen has been a Dragon*Con volunteer for many years, and has been involved with Dragon*Con TV. That bald-headed guy in the red shirt who dies a lot? That's him. He's also responsible for the bumpers that play between video clips before panels and events. He reluctantly admits that that Cthulhu version of Blue's Clues was his fault.
Dr. Kevin Grazier - JPL Scientist, Sci-Fi TV Consultant & Author
Dr. Kevin R. Grazier is a planetary scientist at NASA's Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan. His research involves long-term large-scale computer simulations of solar system dynamics, evolution and chaos with collaborators at UCLA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Auckland, Purdue University and the Space Science Institute. At JPL, he has written mission planning and analysis software that won both JPL- and NASA-wide awards.
Grazier has been featured in several documentaries; he co-hosted the premier episode of Discovery Channel's Science Live! Kid's Edition and even co-anchored CNN's coverage of Cassini's Saturn orbit insertion with Miles O'Brien.
Grazier is currently the Science Advisor for the PBS animated series The Zula Patrol, as well as The Sci-Fi Channel series Eureka and Battlestar Galactica. He writes the monthly Battlestar Galactica TECH Blog on www.hollywoodnorthreport.com and has worked with Richard Hatch on both Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming and Great War of Magellan projects.
In what passes for his spare time, Dr. Grazier teaches classes in basic astronomy, planetary science, cosmology and the search for extraterrestrial life at both UCLA and Santa Monica College. He is also the author of The Science of Dune which will be published in January 2008 and is currently working on a follow up book titled The Science of Michael Crichton.
He is also a planetarium lecturer at Los Angeles' famed Griffith Observatory, and is the interim director of the Drescher Planetarium> at Santa Monica College.
Hugh S. Gregory - Spaceflight Historian
Professionally an avid Spaceflight Historian based in Vancouver Canada, he has worked as an Engineers' Surveyor, an Industrial Paramedic/E.M.T. (Industrial Ambulance Officer) and managed his own Occupational Health and Safety Program consulting service. He lectures occasionally in local schools on spaceflight history and astronomy. Hugh owns and operates the H.R. McMillan Planetarium's affiliated space and astronomy educational BBS "SpaceBase(tm)" and is the moderator of the 8 internationally distributed "SB-" prefixed space news service echoes for the amateur FidoNet network, reaching out to over 5,000 amateur BBS's world wide weekly. SpaceBase is also the affiliated BBS service for R.A.S.C.'s Vancouver Centre and will distribute the data captured each week by the C.A.R.O. Super Nova Search Project when it comes on-line.
His latest research includes the conceptual design theory work on the E.L.D.S.R.R. space reactor (which he gifted to JPL back in July of 2002), Project M.O.S.S. (Musk Observatory Supernova Search) for the Musk Mars Desert Observatory in Hanksville, Utah and the M.A.S.T. Program (Mars Analogue Simulation Trainer), a VR simulator for the Mars Society to help train and prepare crews for their simulations of Mars surface exploration at the Mars Desert Research Station.
Since December 2004 he has been the Mars Society's Chief Documents Editor for the operating manuals for the Mars Desert Research Station. He was selected for and led M.D.R.S. Crew 35 (February-March 2005) as Mission Commander and Crew Astronomer (to set up Project MOSS) and recently was elevated to CapCom and joined the team responsible for communications with Mars Society HAB Crews while they are "in-sim" at the society's research stations.
He's produced and sold videos on "Voyager 2 at Neptune", "The Gas Planets", "SSTO - The DC-X", "Soviet Space Disasters" and "The Flight Of Buran - The Russian Shuttle Story". His slide/video shows have been appearing at Conventions across North America and also overseas for over 16 years now, including 8 consecutive WorldCons. On weekends he's a private pilot, amateur astronomer (Member RASC), cricket umpire, and enjoys hiking in the Rockies with his wife Anne.
Dr. Steven D. Howe - Anti-Matter Scientist and Evil Genius
The short version is that Howe is a nuclear scientist, science fiction author/fan, and Dragoncon attendee for some years. Steve is currently the Director of the Center for Space Nuclear Research in Idaho Falls, ID. Prior to this, he worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for twenty years in areas such as nuclear weapons physics, nuclear rockets, in-situ resource utilization for space exploration, manned-Mars missions, medium-energy particle physics, antimatter physics, and fusion/plasma physics. As part of these efforts, he flew on the KC-135 “vomit comet”, poked his nose in the hatch of the space shuttle Atlantis while it sat on the pad, created a large hole in the ground at the Nevada Test Site, and had various other fun experiences.
Dr. Howe has also co-founded a company, Hbar Technologies LLC, to commercialize the use of antimatter (http://www.hbartech.com). Eventually, they hope to demonstrate a new cancer treatment using antiprotons. So far, “Hbar Tech” has been funded by the NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts (NIAC) to investigate a revolutionary propulsion method to send a probe to the stars and examine a method of cataloguing the water content of asteroids in the main Asteroid Belt.
In addition to his regular activities, Dr. Howe is a published author of fiction having published the novella, Wrench and Claw, in Analog magazine. He also published the novel, Honor Bound Honor Born, which detailed the possible development of the first commercial base on the Moon. In addition to over fifty technical papers published worldwide and his published fiction works, he has also appeared in numerous television programs about space and rocketry. His television credits include: “Living and Working in Space”, PBS and Sci-Fi channel; “Mission to Mars”, Ultra Science, The Learning Channel; “Rocketships,” Discovery Channel (June ‘98); “Rockets in Space”, Wingspan (August ‘98); and “Voyage to the Milky Way”, PBS, (May '99).
Richard Jakiel - Astronomer, Author & EPA Research Scientist
Richard Jakiel is a well known writer in the fields of astronomy, geology and geochemistry. He has written over 50 articles in the past 10 years mostly for large main stream magazines such as Astronomy and Sky & Telescope. Richard has also contributed sections to several books and recently co-authored the book Galaxies and How to Observe Them (Springer, 2006). Over the past five years, he has been a keynote speaker for several large astronomical conventions scattered across the US and in Europe.
In addition to being a writer, he has been an astronomy/physics professor at the University of West Georgia. Currently, he is a research scientist working at Georgia Tech for the State&s Environmental Protection Division (EPD). His latest research projects include the imaging of Mars and Jupiter, archaeoastronomy and a couple new works on galaxies. Check out Richard's latest article, Observering Autumn's Best Nebulae (p. 57 - 61), in the October 2007 issue of Astronomy.
C. Les Johnson - Manager, Space Science Programs and Projects Office
Les manages the Science Programs and Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. He is responsible for overall management and direction of all science programs and projects at the Marshall Center that are funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. This includes a wide range of propulsion technology development for science missions – from advanced combinations of chemical fuels and propellants to systems that use the sun for propulsion or those that leverage a planet's atmosphere for braking – and space science systems, such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the sun-observing Hinode mission.
Previously, Mr. Johnson was manager of the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at Marshall. He was responsible for overall management and direction of the In-Space office and team, overseeing NASA's propulsion technology development efforts intended to one day carry NASA scientific missions to any point in the solar system. He was also the Principal Investigator for the Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS) mission. ProSEDS involved the use of a new type of space propulsion system, called an electrodynamic tether, which can move spacecraft in Earth orbit without the use of fuel.
Prior to joining NASA, Mr. Johnson was a research physicist from 1986 to 1990 with General Research Corporation in Huntsville, working on directed-energy technologies for the Strategic Defense Initiative with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Among his achievements and awards, Mr. Johnson has twice received NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal, which recognizes significant, specific contributions to NASA's missions.
The author of more than 30 propulsion-related articles, Mr. Johnson also has provided technical expertise to a number of popular science fiction authors. He is credited in the forward of several books, including James Hogan's Cradle of Saturn, and Kicking the Sacred Cow, Jack McDevitt's Deepsix, and M. M. Buckner's War Surf. He also was credited as a technical consultant on the 1998 science fiction adventure movie Lost in Space .
Les is now an author himself. He and co-authors Gregory Matloff and C. Bangs recently published a popular science book for Copernicus titled, Living off the Land in Space. Their second book, The Solar Sail Handbook, will be published in 2008. Analog last year published their science-fact article, The Interstellar Conspiracy.
Mr. Johnson holds three patents: in 1989 for a laser-triggered, fiber-optic neutron detector; in July 2003 for an electrodynamic sail for space solar propulsion; and in 2007 for an electrodynamic tether for spacecraft propulsion. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics in 1984 from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. He received a master's degree in physics in 1986 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Johnson is a native of Ashland, Ky. Les and his wife, Carol, and their two children, Carl and Leslie, reside in Madison, Ala.
Ric Jordan - Dir. of Marketing/OCP & Advisor/Cape Canaveral Technical Society
Ric is in the unique position of saying he has worn several hats in his lifetime and can prove it. He served on active duty in the Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. It is in the latter where became a naval intelligence officer and eventually retired. Joining the American space program as a launch technician, he retired from there as a Technical Writer. During this time he obtained two Associates Degrees and has had published articles in a variety of magazines, and has written for local newspapers. He is currently co-authoring a book on the Commercial Human Spaceflight Industry soon to be completed and published in 2007.
He has worked as security director and marketing director for Space Frontier Operations, which is currently translating its R&D into its first hardware project that may launch before the end of 2006. Never sitting too long in one place, Ric is currently Director of Marketing for Orbital Commerce Project, a start-up company that intends to become the premier training establishment for the Commercial Human Spaceflight Industry. He sits as an advisor on the Cape Canaveral Technical Society for the 2007 Space Congress.
William C. Keel - Astronomer & University Professor
In the more socially respectable part of my job, I teach at the University of Alabama; mostly introductory astronomy courses with occasional forays into extragalactic astronomy and observational techniques at the graduate level.
Unlike many professional astronomers, I got my start in the back yard many years ago and retain a soft spot for eyeballing the Universe. A recent major project has been writing The Road to Galaxy Formation, published in August 2002 by Springer-Praxis. A more popular effort (I hope), The Sky at Einstein's Feet, which was published in October 2005. This volume traces the many ways in which relativity has informed the last century of astronomical discovery. More information at http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/.
Ginny Mauldin-Kinney - Solar System Ambassador (NASA – JPL)
Ginny Mauldin-Kinney is best known for her appointment as a Solar System Ambassador through NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory based in Pasadena, California. This program appoints qualified volunteers to educate people in their local communities about past, current, and future JPL-sponsored missions. Currently, there are 494 volunteers serving in the Solar System Ambassador Program throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Mauldin-Kinney has been featured in the Science in Your Life radio series hosted by science correspondent Ted Vigodsky on Atlanta's NPR affiliate, WABE FM 90.1, as well as in a radio interview entitled "Georgians Consider NASA's Next Move" by WABE reporter Bruce Kennedy, that highlighted several individuals' opinions of what NASA's focus should be in the aftermath of the loss of space shuttle Columbia and her crew in February, 2003. In October 2003, she was featured in the Apogee Books Space Series title Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier by science writer Laura S. Woodmansee. Be looking for her viewpoints in Woodmansee's new Apogee title, Sex in Space.
In May 2004, Mauldin-Kinney was invited to participate in JPL's Annual Open House in Pasadena, California, working alongside many prominent mission scientists to educate the public about the Spitzer Space Telescope and on viewing the universe in infrared light. She is making progress on her children's book on space exploration, based on the Mars Exploration Rovers mission and inspired by the work of Steve Squyres, principal investigator of the MER project. She's aiming to have it released in time for Dragon*Con 2008.
Inspired by her uncle's work with NASA in the early days through the Marshall Space Flight Center, Mauldin-Kinney's involvement with astronomy and space exploration began in 1995 when she took a continuing education astronomy course at Emory University with Georgia Tech Research Institute astronomer, Dr. Jim Sowell. Afterward, she began volunteering her time as an observatory assistant at Fernbank Science Center under the mentorship of astronomer Dr. Richard Williamon. Additionally, she served as an officer with the Atlanta Astronomy Club from 1996-1998. A former astronomy laboratory instructor at Georgia State University, she completed her interdisciplinary studies program focusing on Planetary Science and Communications in May, 2002—a curriculum she devised herself.
Professionally, Mauldin-Kinney is an English Language Instructor and the Development Assistant to the Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta, a non-profit social services agency. She also freelances as a web designer. She's a proud mom of two wonderful children, Heather and Phillip.
In her spare time, she makes it her primary mission to educate the public–especially youth–about the merits of space and space exploration. Her favorite outreach events include working with students of all ages who never grow tired of learning.
To learn more about the Solar System Ambassador Program, please visit: www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador. Visit Ginny on the web at www.celestialgirl.com.
Patrick Mason - Likes to Play With Nuclear Power
Patrick Mason currently lives in College Station, TX, attending Texas A&M University. He is in pursuit of a degree in Nuclear Engineering, as well as a Degree in Aerospace Engineering. Patrick works for the ITP (Interphase flow TransPort) group in the Nuclear Engineering department, on projects related to fluid flow data collection in zero gravity environments. In 2005 he worked eight months for the Entergy Corporation in the PWR (Pressure Water Reactor) group, of the nuclear support section, of the company. Much of his work during this time related to the upkeep and maintenance of the PWRs owned, and operated, in the southern U.S., by Entergy. Patrick spends most of his free time split between his friends, girlfriend, watching T.V., making AMVs, and directing AggieCon, which was in March of 2007.
John C. Smith - JPL Cassini Mission Planning Engineer
John C. Smith has a Masters in Celestial Mechanics (the motion of heavenly bodies) and has spent over 20 years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA designing missions to explore the planets. He has worked on missions to Venus, Earth, Mars and has been part of the Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan for the past 16 years. Designer of the four year "tour" of the Saturn system which began in 2004 and recently completed the design of a two year extended mission through 2010. John has also contributed to the new book, The Science of Dune, by fellow JPL co-worker and DragonCon Space track guest, Dr. Kevin Grazier.
jonnyX - Track Director and Evil Genius (pending)
Yes fans, this is your intrepid Space and Science tracks leader (please hold your laughter - you'll hurt his feelings). jonnyX belives if you don't have the brains to be an Evil Genius than you can at least look the part.
Away from DragonCon and his evil genius duties jonnyX is a mild mannered computer geek who only surfaces from his computer to sleep, catch the latest sci-fi/fantasy movie at the theater, play with his cats and the call of nature. Eating, watching sci-fi and science on tv are done with 75% of his attention on the computer screen. His current plans entail heading back to Florida to begin work on his nano-technology degree.
jonnyX has plenty of con experience. Besides his many years as a speaker and track director at DragonCon, he began PhreakNic, a technology con held every year in Nashville and Interzone, an Atlanta computer con which has since morphed into Outerzone. He plans to live forever (fingers crossed that future cryonics technology vastly improves) as long as he can take his cats with him. Ask him about Cid and Tigger for instant brownie points!
