women in science (fiction)

[ursula]

• Which female science fiction writers also have degrees in "hard" science? (Catherine Asaro comes to mind.)
  
• Which female science fiction writers write "hard" science fiction? (Obviously I have a mental list, but it may not be standard.)
  
• What about writers for shows like Star Trek, which I don't know anything about?
  
• I've heard claims that though 70% of all book buyers are female, science-fiction book buyers are predominantly male; can anyone support either of these claims?
  
• How much would it cost to bring, say, Maureen F. McHugh to Seattle?
  

Comments

[gwacie.livejournal.com]

I'll ask Maureen, somehow I don't think she'll be that expensive depending on how long of a stay you have in mind.

Do you know what the F stands for? ;)

[ursula]

I have no idea what the F stands for, though your question has given me some interesting ideas ;)

[ex-greythist387.livejournal.com]

Degrees: Joan Slonczewski (http://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/slonc.htm) teaches molecular biology at Kenyon. Vonda McIntyre has a BS from UW (http://www.sff.net/people/Vonda/Vnm_bio.html) and did a year's grad work in genetics. I'd count bio/biochem as hard science, against archaeology/anthropology and other "social" sciences. Believe it or not, Katherine Kurtz (http://www.twbookmark.com/authors/64/163/) has a chemistry BS.

ISTR that Elizabeth Moon has a biology degree as well. Linda Nagata's degree is in zoology, which gets us out of hard sci, I think. Things that count even less for your question: Diane Duane studied astrophysics for a year or two before switching to nursing, and yhlee has a Bachelor's in math.

Does anyone know in which subject Pat Murphy and Pat Cadigan took their respective degrees?

Hard sf: I'm blanking. Would you count Kathleen Goonan, or is biotech-driven stuff that sounds like it wants to be the new cyberpunk (Paul McAuley's Fairyland comes to mind, too) not really hard sf?

[ursula]

Hmm, I count Nancy Kress, so I might count Kathleen Ann Goonan. (In general it's hard to come up with a long list of anyone writing "really hard" science fiction.)

Is yhlee in Seattle?

[ex-greythist387.livejournal.com]

User info says Richland :) which appears to be some way off. Her husband is in a ?physics grad program; I can't remember which school.

[ursula]

Skimming suggests that whatever grad program he might be in, the important information is that he's at Hanford (which explains Richland, as well).

[ursula]

(Of course not, now that I contemplate, I have indeed been to Richland, and it is not Seattle.)

[ex-greythist387.livejournal.com]

So what is on your list, however (possibly) idiosyncratic, of hard sf written by women? I asked lanval for an add'l opinion, and he pointed out that hard sf by men isn't a lengthy list either.

[ursula]

Of course I said that I had a list, when what I meant was that I spent a couple of days thinking about the problem a few months ago, and have now forgotten what I came up with. Nancy Kress, definitely-- her science is sometimes doubtful, but scientific innovation seems to drive her plots in a characteristically hard-science way. Vonda McIntyre's Nautilus series also has a science-driven feel. Cherryh has the grit that I associate with a lot of hard sf, but when you get down to it her characters are dominating . . .

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

*Catherine Asaro* has a science degree? Dear god, in *what*?

(I should mention that I only know her work from the occasional piece nominated for the Hugos; if you're on sfdt (which I suppose you're not), her novella is the only one I've read so far and oy. Highly generic romance novel with an outer space twist. And I *read* romance novels, even.)

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Physics, I believe it is.

[ursula]

Physics and chemical physics, from Harvard (one's a master's, one a Ph.D.). She taught at U. Maryland for a while (and in fact her space drives are quite interesting; I read a bunch of her books before the gratuitousness of the beautiful men started getting to me.)

According to her official biography, she's also a ballerina, has several kids, and runs the SFWA.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

So she doesn't just *write* Mary Sues, she plays one in real life as well? Heh.

Yes, this is from like months ago. Inbox cleaning, man.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Syne Mitchell, a very good local hard sci-fi writer, and I believe her degree was in physics. Absolutely fabulous woman - she spoke to our writer's group last year, and her novels are wonderful!

[ursula]

Nifty! I'll have to check them out.

It's always interesting to read backlog :)

[house-elf.livejournal.com]

A local writer here in the Pitsburgh area is L.A.Graf, who lives just across the back yard from my gf. L.A.Graf is a Pseudonym for two women; Karen Rose Cercone and Julia Ecklar. I believe that Julia is currently working on her Grad program, and I believe both of them have taught at universities locally.

L.A.Graf has written multiple Star Trek novels, at least one Alien Nation novel, and I know Julia has written several things herself; Regenesis among them.

Re: It's always interesting to read backlog :)

[ursula]

If I ever have the energy to propose this project, I'll keep your friends in mind!