HAL CLEMENT, SCIENCE FICTION AUTHOR, DIES AT 81 Hal Clement (Harry Clement Stubbs), influential science fiction author and resident of Milton, MA, passed away today, October 29th, 2003.
A retired school teacher (Milton Academy), WWII pilot, and scout leader, Hal Clement began writing science fiction in the 1940s, devoting himself to the creation of cleverly imagined and thoroughly worked out environments elsewhere in space. His devotion to the astronomy, physics and chemistry of other worlds became famous with the publication of the novel Mission of Gravity in 1954. Clement soon gained a worldwide reputation as a quintessential science fiction writer, whose works more or less defined the term. Clement's work continues to be the most influential model for hard science fiction writers. He was named a SFWA Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1998 in recognition of a lifetime achievement in the field. Clement was born in Somerville, Massachusetts on May 30, 1922, to Harry Clarence Stubbs and Marjorie (White) Stubbs. He grew up in Greater Boston, attending schools in Arlington and Cambridge, finishing Rindge Tech in 1939. Clement earned a B.S. in Astronomy, Harvard, 1943, an M.Ed. on the GI Bill, Boston University, 1946, and an M.S. in Chemistry from Simmons College, 1963. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps Reserve in 1944 and retired as a colonel in 1976. Married in 1952, Clement is survived by his wife Mary, two sons George and Richard, daughter Christine Hensel, and grandson Jackson. Some books by Hal Clement: Needle (1950) Iceworld (1953) Mission of Gravity (1954) Cycle of Fire (1957) Close to Critical (1964) Small Changes (1969) Ocean On Top (1973) Through the Eye of a Needle (1978) The Nitrogen Fix (1980) Still River (1987) Isaac's Universe: Fossil (1993) Half Life (1999) Noise (2003) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
