BAKER, Christopher W. 1952-

PERSONAL: Born May 26, 1952, in Newton, MA; married Melissa Smith (a teacher); children: Elliott Steele. Education: Boston University, B.A. (anthropology); University of Rhode Island, M.S. (computer science).

ADDRESSES: Home—8770 Cider Springs Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472. Office—Brandslinger Naming Group, Sebastopol, CA. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Brandslinger Naming Group, Sebastopol, CA, chief executive officer, 1999—.

WRITINGS:

Computer Illusion in Film and TV, Alpha Books (Indianapolis, IN), 1994.

Scientific Visualization: The New Eyes of Science, Alpha Books (Indianapolis, IN), 1994.

Let There Be Life!: Animating with the Computer, Walker (New York, NY), 1997.

Virtual Reality: Experiencing Illusion, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2000.

A New World of Simulators: Training with Technology, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2001.

Robots among Us: The Challenges and Promises of Robotics, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Christopher W. Baker writes about technology for children, and his books Scientific Visualization: The New Eyes of Science and Virtual Reality: Experiencing Illusion exemplify his methods. In these works, Bakers offers a brief overview of advances in computer-generate imaging, with important applications in the medical field, architecture, and military training. In Scientific Visualization, the emphasis is on new machines that allow humans to extend the range of normal eyesight, in order to see through something else, such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or to see objects that are too far away or too small (with electron microscopes), or to speed up or slow down sequences of events that are otherwise beyond the grasp of human observation. In Virtual Reality, Baker explains the process of digital imaging in the creation of simulated versions of reality that have become widely used in the creation of games, and in training medical and military personnel. Both books are considered to provide good introductory material to the subject for upper-elementary-school students. Perhaps not containing information to become the basis of a school report, the books provide readers just enough information and bright illustrations to "whet their appetites to find out more elsewhere," as Yapha Nussbaum Mason concluded in School Library Journal.

Baker takes up a related topic in A New World of Simulators: Training with Technology, in which he emphasizes the use of computer-generated simulations in training people to operate dangerous, complex, or expensive machines, such as ships, space shuttles, and nuclear power plants. Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan praised Baker's dramatic introduction, concluding that "students will find this … an attractive starting point for research."

The perennial fascination with robots among young people is at the center of Baker's book Robots amongUs: The Challenges and Promises of Robotics. Here, he discusses how people have dreamed of creating machines with human capabilities and how close that dream has come to reality. At the heart of the matter is the need to create artificially the "sense-think-act" mechanism that is inherent in human beings and allows for such simple actions as picking up and drinking a glass of water. The author offers simple projects and experiments to illustrate his points, and young readers "will be inspired by a sense of wonder" at human abilities and robot potentialities, according to Louise L. Sherman in School Library Journal.

"It's funny," Baker told CA. "English was always my worst and hardest subject through high school. And here I am now, an author with several books and multiple magazine articles to my credit. I don't know what caused the transition, but at some point after high school I became fascinated with words and languages. This led me into writing poetry and eventually trying my hand at both film scripts and books. Having a science background, I naturally took to nonfiction writing, and I find I love to take complex subjects and turn them into something interesting, compelling, and fun for my readers. This ability to create clarity from confusion has also served me well in my primary career. I founded and run a company that develops names for other companies and their products. Everything needs a name, doesn't it? And that's where I come in. I clarify my client's thinking about their brand strategy and then create the name that best fits with their goals.

"My advice to starting authors is to learn about something you are interested in and then write about it, either for magazines or newspapers. Get a little experience this way and then dream up a good solid book project and hit the pavement. Above all, do not get discouraged by being turned away at the publisher's door. If you keep trying, keep refining your ideas, you will make it happen."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of Let There Be Life!: Animating with the Computer, p. 800; April 1, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of Scientific Visualization: The New Eyes of Science and Virtual Reality: Experiencing Illusion, p. 1452; August, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of A New World of Simulators: Training with Technology, p. 2109; June 1, 2002, Kathy Broderick, review of Robots among Us: The Challenges and Promises of Robotics, p. 1710.

Horn Book Guide, spring, 2001, Kitty Flynn, review of Scientific Visualization and Virtual Reality, p. 124.

School Library Journal, June, 2000, Yapha Nussbaum Mason, review of Scientific Visualization and Virtual Reality: Experiencing Illusion, p. 158; August, 2001, John Peters, review of A New World of Simulators, p. 191; September, 2002, Louise L. Sherman, review of Robots among Us, p. 240.*