Name Travis Taylor | ||
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Books Back to the Moon, Von Neumann's War, Vorpal Blade, Claws that Catch, Manxome Foe Similar John Ringo, Allen Steele, Raven Oak | ||
An interview with travis s taylor part 1
Travis Shane Taylor (born 24 July 1968 in Decatur, Alabama) is an aerospace engineer, optical scientist, science fiction author, and star of National Geographic Channel's Rocket City Rednecks. Taylor has written more than 25 technical papers, 14 science fiction novels and two textbooks, and has appeared in multiple television documentaries, including NGC’s recently highly rated special When Aliens Attack.
Contents
- An interview with travis s taylor part 1
- An interview with travis s taylor part 4
- Personal biography
- Professional biography
- Education
- Selected Publications
- Selected Patents
- Television
- References
An interview with travis s taylor part 4
Personal biography
Taylor grew up in rural North Alabama alongside his older brother Gregory, a chief master sergeant of the Air Force Reserves. As a boy, Taylor read science fiction and dismantled household electronics. In the eighth grade, he wrote a novella about a post-nuclear-war America featuring an aerospace engineer who carried a bullwhip and used a little flying wing that he had invented to spy on the Soviets. His father, Charles Taylor, worked as a machinist at Wyle Laboratories, which subcontracted for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the 1960s, wherein he built America's first satellites directly with Wernher von Braun. While in high school, Taylors' family moved to Somerville, near Huntsville, next door to an Army scientist. At 17 years old, with the help of his neighbor, he built a radio telescope that won the state science fair and placed sixth in the nation. This led the Army to offer Taylor a job working at Redstone Arsenal on direct energy weapons systems directly out of high school as well as a scholarship. Taylor is a black belt martial artist, a private pilot, a scuba diver, races mountain bikes, competed in triathlons, and has been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of several hard rock bands. Taylor lives near Huntsville with his wife Karen, daughter Kalista Jade, two dogs Stevie and Wesker, and his cat Kuro.
Professional biography
Taylor has worked on various programs for the United States Department of Defense and NASA for over sixteen years. He is currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, high-energy lasers, and next generation space launch concepts. Taylor is also involved with multiple Human intelligence (HUMINT), Imagery intelligence (IMINT), Signals intelligence (SIGINT) and Measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) concept studies.
Education
His scientific background includes:
To obtain his accredited online master's degree in astronomy from the University of Western Sydney in Australia, he built an extrasolar planet imaging instrument in his backyard using a plastic pipe, telescopic camera, and $200 computer.
Selected Publications
Selected Patents
Television
Taylor first appeared in episodes of The Universe for The History Channel in 2010, after his name came up in a search regarding space warfare. Taylor had been featured prominently on National Geographic Channel's When Aliens Attack in 2011. In the summer of 2011, the National Geographic Channel announced a new series called Rocket City Rednecks which features Taylor. The first episode showed in September 2011. A self-proclaimed 'redneck rocket scientist', Taylor focuses on 'hillbilly ingenuity' for the show's backyard science experiments, aided by his family and best friend whom are all machinists and inventors. This was picked up for a second season which started 29 Nov 2012.