Walter Seager Sullivan, Jr. (January 12, 1918 ? March 19, 1996) was considered the "dean" of science writers. ^[1]

Sullivan spent most of his career as a science reporter for The New York Times . Over a 50-year career, he covered all aspects of science ? Antarctic expeditions , rocket launchings in the late 1950s, physics , chemistry , and geology .

He wrote several well-received books, including Assault on the Unknown about the International Geophysical Year ; We Are Not Alone , a bestseller about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence; Continents in Motion ; Black Holes: The Edge of Space, the End of Time ; and Landprints .

In 1971, Sullivan participated in a symposium on the occasion of the arrival of Mariner 9 to Mars , together with Ray Bradbury ; Arthur C. Clarke ; Carl Sagan and Bruce C. Murray . Their discussions were recorded in the book Mars and the Mind of Man . ^{[2] [3]}

Sullivan won nearly every award open to a science journalist, including the Daly Medal of the American Geographical Society, the George Polk Award , the Distinguished Public Service Award of the National Science Foundation , the AIP Science writing award ; the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public from the American Chemical Society , and the American Association for the Advancement of Science .

In 1980, Sullivan was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences . ^[4]

The American Geophysical Union named its science journalism award after Sullivan. ^[5]

See also [ edit ]

• Gerard K. O'Neill

References [ edit ]