Glass Universe (Sobel) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—June 15, 1947
• Where—New York, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., State University of New York-Binghamton
• Awards—National Science Board's Individual Public Service Award (more below)
• Currently—lives in East Hampton, Long Island, New York


Dava Sobel is an American author of popular books that explore scientific discoveries and the way they transform humanity's worldview. Her books include Longitude (1995), Galileo's Daughter (2000), The Planets (2005), A More Perfect Heaven (2011), and The Glass Universe (2016).

Sobel was raised in New York City, close enough to walk to the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden—which she did frequently at an early age. Both of her parents were readers, and her mother had trained as a chemist, so no one in her family considered it odd for a young girl to be drawn to the sciences.

Following her nose for science, Sobel attended and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science—considering it, as she says on her website, her most impressive credential. She completed her formal education at the State University of New York at Binghamton where she received her Bachelor's degree.

Sobel spent the next 20-some years of her career as a writer, first with a brief stint at IBM as a technical writer, then as a freelance journalist. She wrote for the Cornell University News Bureau, New York Times, Harvard Magazine, Science Digest, Omni, Discover, Audubon, Life, and The New Yorker.

In 1995, she published her first book—Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. The book became an unexpected success and launched Sobel's career as a full-time author.

More
That first book, Longitude, was adapted as a four-hour television film in 1999 starring Jeremy Irons. It was shown in the U.S. on the A&E channel. In addition, PBS's NOVA produced a science documentary, Lost At Sea—The Search for Longitude, based on the book.

Sorbel's fourth book, A More Perfect Heaven, had a different provenance than any of her other books: it started out as a stage play, a dialogue between Nicolaus Copernicus and his collaborator Georg Joachim Rheticus. From there it grew into a book recounting the tension between the Copernican heliocentric theory and the religious and political backdrop of the era.

Sobel has taught science writing at the University of Chicago, Mary Baldwin College (Staunton, VA), and Smith College (Northampton, MA).

Honors
1999 - Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2001 - Individual Public Service Award, National Science Board
2001 - Bradford Washburn Award, Boston Museum of Science
2002 - Honorary Doctorates: Middlebury College, University of Bath (UK)
2004 - Harrison Medal, Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (UK)
2008 - Klumpke-Roberts Award, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
2014 - Cultural Award, Eduard Rhein Foundation (Germany)
2015 - Honorary Doctorate: University of Bern (Switzerland)
(Author bio compiled by LitLovers, including the author's website.)