Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Gregory Benford

グレゴリー・ベンフォード

Gregory Benford

Aliases: グレゴリイ・ベンフォード

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1941-01-30 （Mobile, Alabama, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Atheism
Residence History
Mobile, Alabama (birth) → Japan (childhood) → Irvine, California (residence/employment)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Physicist, University Professor
Active Years
1965-
Affiliations
University of California, Irvine (Physics Professor), The Mars Society (officer)

Education

University of Oklahoma
Department of Physics
Degree: B.Sc.
Period: 〜1963
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree in Physics
University of California, San Diego
Department of Physics
Degree: M.S.
Period: 1963-1965
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: United States
Master's degree
University of California, San Diego
Department of Physics
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1965-1967
Year of Graduation: 1967
Country: United States
Doctoral degree

Awards

Nebula Award
1980
Work: Timescape
Category: 長編
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result: 受賞
John W. Campbell Memorial Award
1981
Work: Timescape
Category: 長編
Result: 受賞
British Science Fiction Association Award
1980
Work: Timescape
Category: 長編
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Nebula Award (Novella/Related)
Work: "If the Stars Are Gods" (novella; with Gordon Eklund)
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Timescape

1980 Science fiction (time travel)

A science-thriller about time communication across different temporal frames; explores scientific issues and human consequences.

time travelethics of sciencecommunication

In the Oceans of Night

1976 Science fiction (hard SF)

First book in the 'Galactic Center' sequence, depicting interstellar conflict between organic and machine life and space adventure.

machines vs. organicsinterstellar warclash of civilizations

If the Stars Are Gods

1977 Science fiction

Co-written with Gordon Eklund; a work exploring grand ideas about life and the cosmos, origin for longer related works.

cosmologyviews on lifefirst-contact elements

Foundation's Fear

1997 Science fiction (authorized sequel)

The first of a trilogy written as an official continuation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

galactic empirepolitics and science

Bowl of Heaven (series)

2012 Science fiction

A large-scale space-opera collaboration with Larry Niven; includes works not translated into Japanese.

space operacooperation and adventure

Bibliography

  • In the Oceans of Night — 1976
  • Timescape — 1980
  • Great Sky River — 1987
  • Foundation's Fear — 1997

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Hard-SF with precise scientific detailCharacterization from a scientist's perspective
Recurring Motifs
scientist protagonistsconflict between humans and machinestime and causality

Legacy

A practicing scientist who gained acclaim as a hard-SF writer. With award-winning works such as Timescape, he helped elevate scientific fiction and served as a bridge between academia and the SF community.

Academic Societies

  • The Mars Society (officer)

Trivia

  • Spent part of his childhood in Japan due to his father's work, but does not speak Japanese.
  • Has an identical twin brother, Jim Benford; they have collaborated on fiction.
  • Has claimed to have conceived the idea of computer viruses in the late 1960s.
  • Original prose is known to be difficult to translate; Japanese translations involved editorial name changes.