Mark E. Lasbury: The Realization of Star Trek Technologies

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover: Star Trek Technologies

THE REALIZATION OF STAR TREK TECHNOLOGIES:
THE SCIENCE, NOT FICTION, BEHIND BRAIN IMPLANTS,
PLASMA SHIELDS, QUANTUM COMPUTING, AND MORE
Mark E. Lasbury, MS, MSEd, PhD
Springer International, September 21, 2016, $39.99
ISBN-10: 3319409123; ISBN-13: 978-3319409122
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-40914-6

Lasbury reports:

I was writing posts for a science of pop culture blog called The ‘Scope in the spring of 2015. The blog’s co-founder and I were both trained in the medical sciences, so I decided to try a series on Star Trek technologies to bring more of physical sciences to the blog. During my research, I learned that 2016 would be the fiftieth anniversary of the original series. This, along with the fact that many of the technologies were maturing quickly, suggested that a book might be a good idea.

Mark E. Lasbury

I did preliminary research for the blog posts, but the key for turning the pieces into a book would be to include dialogues and anecdotes from the scientists themselves. Although I considered self-publishing, I surmised that being a biologist writing a physics book, having a well-known scientific publisher attached to the project would open doors for interviews. Springer International saw the potential in connecting an emerging technologies book to the Star Trek anniversary, and the blog posts showed that I was capable of describing the physics involved.

Mary James, the senior editor at Springer, agreed to the project when I convinced her that the blog posts would represent only a small portion of information on each technology, and that I could get the scientists to talk to me about their work and the influence of Star Trek on their research or their decision to enter science in general. In all, I was able to speak to and incorporate the thoughts of more than two dozen engineers, physicists and biomedical scientists.

Each of the nine chapters of the book is devoted to a single technology, with an average of eight color illustrations in each chapter. The figures and pictures turned out well, but I should have asked for permissions as I wrote the chapters instead of going back to do them all at the end. Waiting for permissions to use images and finding secondary images to pursue took a few extra weeks; however, they help make many of the more difficult concepts clearer.

Contact info:

Mark E. Lasbury, 317-500-3092, biologuy1@gmail.com
Book website: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319409122
Blog website: http://www.biologicalexceptions.blogspot.com

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

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