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  Ben Bova, space/sci-fi author (1932-2020)

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Author Topic:   Ben Bova, space/sci-fi author (1932-2020)
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45279
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-30-2020 04:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ben Bova, author and space exploration advocate, died on Sunday (Nov. 29, 2020). He was 88.

From his niece (via Twitter):

My Uncle Ben... by marriage... science fiction icon, author, adventure lover, story teller, futurist, and my son's namesake, Ben Bova, has passed away this morning from COVID-19 related pneumonia and a stroke. Needless to say, he will be missed terribly by us and the the world.
From a biography prepared by the National Space Society:
The author of more than 115 futuristic novels and nonfiction books, Dr. Ben Bova has been involved in science and high technology since the very beginnings of the space age.

President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, "for fueling mankind's imagination regarding the wonders of outer space."

His "Grand Tour" novels, such as "Moonrise," "Mars," and "Titan" combine romance, adventure, and the highest degree of scientific accuracy to show how the human race will expand through the solar system, and the impact this will have on individual human lives and society as a whole. His nonfiction books, such as "Faint Echoes," "Distant Stars" and "Immortality," show how modern technology can be used to solve economic, social and political problems.

In his various writings, Dr. Bova predicted the Space Race of the 1960s, solar power satellites, the discovery of organic chemicals in interstellar space, virtual reality, human cloning, the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), the discovery of life on Mars, the advent of international peacekeeping forces, the discovery of ice on the moon, electronic book publishing and zero-gravity sex.

Dr. Bova taught science fiction at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, where he also directed film courses. He received his doctorate in education in 1996 from California Coast University, a master of arts degree in communications from the State University of New York at Albany (1987) and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Temple University (1954).

He was editorial director of Omni magazine and, earlier, editor of Analog magazine. He received the Science Fiction Achievement Award (the "Hugo") for Best Professional Editor six times. In 2001, Dr. Bova was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Bova was manager of marketing for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, in Massachusetts, and worked with leading scientists in fields such as high-power lasers, artificial hearts and plasma dynamics. Earlier, he was technical editor on Project Vanguard, the first American artificial satellite program.

Dr. Bova was on the Steering Committee for the NASA/Space Transportation Association study on space tourism. He served on panels of the Office of Technology Assessment.

He was a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a charter member of the Planetary Society and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society.

SkyMan1958
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posted 11-30-2020 04:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SkyMan1958   Click Here to Email SkyMan1958     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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sts205cdr
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Posts: 668
From: Sacramento, CA
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posted 11-30-2020 04:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for sts205cdr   Click Here to Email sts205cdr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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ManInSpace
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From: Brooklin, ON Canada
Registered: Feb 2018

posted 11-30-2020 04:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ManInSpace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I first came across some of his earlier works while still a 1970s' High School student. His visions of what the possible (but not) "near future" could bring, never failed to excite me.

Thank you Ben and Rest In Peace.

Cozmosis22
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From: Texas * Earth
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posted 11-30-2020 05:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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SpaceCadet1983
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posted 11-30-2020 06:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceCadet1983   Click Here to Email SpaceCadet1983     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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edorr
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posted 11-30-2020 07:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for edorr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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GACspaceguy
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posted 11-30-2020 08:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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randy
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posted 11-30-2020 09:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for randy   Click Here to Email randy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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SpaceAholic
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From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
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posted 11-30-2020 09:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Kevin T. Randall
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posted 12-01-2020 12:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kevin T. Randall   Click Here to Email Kevin T. Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Panther494
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posted 12-01-2020 04:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Panther494   Click Here to Email Panther494     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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Kite
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From: Northampton UK
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posted 12-01-2020 05:10 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kite     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I thoroughly enjoyed his novels "Mars," "Return to Mars" and "Jupiter." Must read some more.

RIP.

gareth89
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Jeff
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posted 12-01-2020 07:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jeff   Click Here to Email Jeff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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LM1
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posted 12-01-2020 07:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM1   Click Here to Email LM1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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minipci
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posted 12-01-2020 11:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for minipci     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Loved his book "The Dueling Machine."

star51L
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dss65
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Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 12-04-2020 11:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I remember Bova from his days at Analog as both writer and editor. He took over from John W. Campbell as editor in the early 70s and maintained the same level of quality, not an insignificant achievement. Some of his stories remain my favorites. He will be missed.

capoetc
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posted 12-04-2020 08:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for capoetc   Click Here to Email capoetc     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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alcyone
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Gilbert
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posted 12-16-2020 12:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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spaceheaded
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413 is in
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