Speaker Night with Eric Choi – Science Fiction and Space Flight

Talk Synopsis

Centuries before the Space Age and continuing to the present day, people have journeyed to the stars vicariously through science fiction. The links between science fiction and the real-life space program are implicit and numerous. This presentation will show the links between science fiction and the real-life space program. Public attitudes to science, our knowledge of the Universe, science and technology, and aerospace professionals all inspire works of science fiction. In turn, science fiction can influence aerospace careers, perceptions of the space program, politics and funding, and even space missions themselves. The presentation will conclude with a look at the links between science fiction and the ongoing exploration of Mars.

Bio:   Eric Choi holds a B.A.Sc in Engineering Science and an M.A.Sc in Aerospace Engineering, both from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from York University. Over the course of his engineering career, he has held positions of increasing technical and managerial responsibility in both the aviation and space sectors, the latter including work on QEYSSat (Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite), the Meteorology (MET) payload on the Phoenix Mars Lander, the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station, the RADARSAT-1 Earth-observation satellite, and the MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution on the Troposphere) instrument. As a science fiction writer, he was the first recipient of the Isaac Asimov Award (now the Must Read Books Award) for his novelette “Dedication”. He has twice won the Aurora Award for his short story “Crimson Sky” and the Chinese-themed speculative fiction anthology The Dragon and the Stars (DAW) co-edited with Derwin Mak. With the late Ben Bova, he co-edited the hard SF anthology Carbide Tipped Pens (Tor). His short fiction collection Just Like Being There (Springer) includes the Sidewise Award winning alternate history novelette “A Sky and a Heaven” about the space shuttle Columbia accident. In 2009, he was one of the Top 40 finalists (out of 5,351 applicants) in the Canadian Space Agency’s astronaut recruitment campaign. Please visit his website www.aerospacewriter.ca or follow him on social @AerospaceWriter.

Banner Credit: Enterprise 1701 – US National Air and Space Museum; Polaris – Tom Wildoner