Burstein, Michael A. 1970-

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BURSTEIN, Michael A. 1970-

PERSONAL: Born 1970, in New York, NY; married, June 18, 1995; wife's name Nomi. Education: Harvard College, A.B. (physics), 1991; Boston University, M.A. (physics), 1993.

ADDRESSES: Home—Brookline, MA. Offıce—Public Library of Brookline, 361 Washington Street, Brookline, MA 02445. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Science-fiction writer and educator. Berkeley Carroll School, New York, NY, physics teacher, 1993-95; Cambridge School of Weston, Weston, MA, teacher, 1995-2001; Rashi School, Newton, MA, science coordinator and teacher, 2001—. Brookline Public Library, Brookline, MA, member of board of trustees. Worked as assistant coordinator of "Media in Transition" project and science-fiction lecture series, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge.

MEMBER: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (secretary, 1998-2000), Lewis Carroll Society of North America, Horror Writers Association, New England Science Fiction Association (vice president, 1998-2000), American Association of Physics Teachers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award, and Analytical Laboratory Award for best short story, Analog, both 1995, both for "TeleAbsence"; Reader Appreciation Award for best new writer, Science Fiction Weekly, 1996; John Campbell Award for best new writer, 1997; several Hugo Award nominations for stories; Nebula Award nomination and Sturgeon Award nomination, both for Reality Check; Nebula Award nomination for "Kaddish for the Last Survivor."

WRITINGS:

E-BOOKS

TeleAbsence, Fictionwise, 1995.

The Spider in the Hairdo, Fictionwise, 1997.

Cosmic Corkscrew, Fictionwise, 1998.

In Space, No One Can Hear, Fictionwise, 1998.

Hunger, Fictionwise, 1998.

(With Charles Ardai) Nor through Inaction, Fictionwise, 1998.

Vanishing Tears, Fictionwise, 1999.

The Quantum Teleporter, Fictionwise, 2000.

Escape Horizon, Fictionwise, 2000.

(With Lawrence D. Weinberg) Debunking the Faith Healer, Fictionwise, 2000.

Kaddish for the Last Survivor, Fictionwise, 2000.

Spaceships, Fictionwise, 2001.

The Great Miracle, Fictionwise, 2001.

The Cold Calculations, Fictionwise, 2001.

(With Shane Toutellotte) Bug Out!, Fictionwise, 2001.

In Her Image, Fictionwise, 2002.

(With Mike Resnick) Reflections in Black Granite, Fictionwise, 2002.

(With Jenny Bourne) DSL: A Wiley Tech Brief, Fictionwise, 2002.

Paying It Forward, Fictionwise, 2003.

"BROKEN SYMMETRY" SERIES; E-BOOKS

Broken Symmetry, Fictionwise, 1997.

Absent Friends, Fictionwise, 1998.

Reality Check, Fictionwise, 1999.

"PROBABILITY ZERO" SERIES; E-BOOKS

The Cure, Fictionwise, 1997.

Whose Millennium?, Fictionwise, 2000.

(With Joseph J. Lazzaro) The Turing Testers, Fictionwise, 2000.

Contributor of science fiction and nonfiction to periodicals, including Analog, Absolute Magnitude, Science Fiction Weekly, and Mimosa. Contributor to anthologies, including Worldcon Guest of Honor Book and I, Alien, edited by Mike Resnick, DAW, in press.

SIDELIGHTS: From the time his first published story, "TeleAbsence," was nominated for a Hugo Award, Michael A. Burstein has been a prominent fixture in the world of science fiction. He is known for drawing on his knowledge of science and physics, subjects he has taught in a number of secondary schools, which provides his stories with a verisimilitude that work in the genre often lacks. At the same time, in his writings Burstein questions the everyday consequences future technology or future discoveries might have on ordinary people. In "TeleAbsence," for instance, written at the beginning of the Internet explosion, a poor boy named Tony is forced to sneak into a private school and steal a pair of virtual reality glasses in order to enjoy the revolutionary educational opportunities that the middle-class students take for granted. As Burstein told Boston Globe correspondent Jennifer Peck, "I try to find something I really care about and often it's a social issue." Lucy Cohen Schmeidler, writing in CyberCozen, called "TeleAbsence" a "feel-good story." In his "Broken Symmetry" series, Burstein builds a trilogy around the superconducting super-collider, a massive, real-world project on hiatus because of a lack of congressional funding. When the abandoned structure starts "hiccupping," an explosion creates a portal to another universe in which everyone has a double, and Burstein explores the emotional impact of this universe on those who seek the doubles of their lost loved ones. In addition to his own work, Burstein has nurtured future sci-fi writers through his work as a high school science and writing teacher and his active involvement with science fiction associations.