Eric Schulman

Eric Schulman got his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Michigan and his B.S. in astrophysics from UCLA. He's had all the typical jobs that authors tend to have: undergraduate research assistant (at UCLA, Maria Mitchell Observatory, Arecibo Observatory, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory); undergraduate grader and tutor at UCLA; graduate student teaching assistant, graduate student research assistant, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Graduate Student Researchers Program Fellow at the University of Michigan; visiting lecturer, lecturer, and instructor at the University of Virginia; and research associate at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. From 1999 until 2001 he wrote a bimonthly column for Mercury Magazine entitled "Armchair Astrophysics."

Dr. Schulman is on the editorial board of The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), which has been described as "the MAD Magazine of science." He's written eighteen articles for AIR, including "How to Write a Scientific Paper" and "The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less." Two of his works appear in The Best of Annals of Improbable Research [W.H. Freeman Publishers, 1997].

Dr. Schulman's reading of "The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less" has been broadcast on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday" and "Sounds Like Science," the Canadian Broadcasting Company's "Quirks and Quarks," and Public Radio International's "The World" radio programs. The history has been translated into more than 30 languages and provided the inspiration for his 1999 book, A Briefer History of Time. A slideshow version, "The History of the Universe in 60 Seconds or Less," can be found on the National Science Foundation website at http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.cfm?med_id=54447