Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov is one of the towering figures of Science Fiction, helping to guide the genre through periods of early growth to the threshold of the modern expanses of imagination that we know today. Asimov's Foundation Series and his Robot Series broke new ground, dealing adroitly with topics of futurism and humanism and winning awards and popular acclaim alike. He was a frequent winner of industry awards such as the Hugo and the Nebula. Today, his name is almost synonymous with the genre, and there are two awards named after him for Science Fiction accomplishments. From the Science Channel: He saved the future from Evil Robots! Faced with a sci-fi tradition where robots exist only to torment their human creators, Isaac Asimov dreamed a better future where we need not fear our own technology. With his breakthrough sci-fi story collection, I, Robot, Asimov laid the ground rules for robo-behavior both in fiction and perhaps one day in real life. With stories like Robbie and Runaround, Isaac Asimov wrote of a future where mechanical men can do our jobs for us. His ideas inspired General Motors to create Unimate (the first industrial robot) and paved the way for the widespread automation of modern industry. In The Naked Sun, Asimov warns that mankind will attempt to use robots as tools of warfare. Today, increasingly advanced robotic soldiers wage war on the front lines of the modern battlefield. Asimov's Bicentennial Man foretells the merging of man and machine with the advent of transhuman technology. Today, bionic limbs implanted smart chips, and even strength-enhancing robotic exoskeletons indicate that Asimov's age of the transhuman is upon us. He's now regarded as the father of robotics. Isaac Asimov's amazingly prolific body of work — over 500 books — set the stage for a robo-friendly world. Today, droid doctors save lives performing delicate spinal surgery, and automaton astronauts repair orbital stations in the vacuum of space. And it all started with Isaac Asimov's futuristic vision: a robot in every home. To purchase the Science Channel's excellent one-hour documentary on Asimov, click here.