David Brin is a scientist, public speaker, and author. Several of his novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. David Brin's papers in scientific journals cover an eclectic range of topics from astronautics, astronomy, and optics to alternative dispute resolution and the role of neoteny in human evolution.His Ph.D in Space Physics from the University of California at San Diego followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Space Institute and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Brin's novel - Kiln People - was released by Tor Books in December 2001. It's a science fiction thriller about a technology which allows the user to create short-lived duplicates of oneself.