ISAAC ASIMOV Born Isaak Ozimov on January 2

ISAAC ASIMOV • Born Isaak Ozimov on January 2, 1920 in Russia • Died April 6, 1992 • Became a professor of biochemistry at Boston University • Had a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy from Columbia University • Known for works of science fiction and popular science • Considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers

WHY IS HE REMEMBERED? • One of the most prolific writers of all time • Wrote or edited over 500 books • Over 90, 000 personal letters • Published in all genres

KNOWN FOR FUTURISM • Popular Writing • Robot Series • Galactic Empire Series

LAWS OF ROBOTICS

COINED THE TERM ROBOT

IN HIS HONOR • Asteroid 5020 • Crater on Mars • An Elementary School in Brooklyn • The Isaac Asimov Literary Award

FIRST ROBOT STORY • Robbie was Asimov’s first robot story • He started writing it in 1939 and published it a year later • A revised version was printed in his book, I, Robot in 1950 • It was later turned into a blockbuster movie with Will Smith

THEMES IN ROBOT DREAMS

ROBOT DREAMS • "Robot Dreams", is a collection of 20 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph Mc. Quarrie. It was published in Robot Dreams in 1986 by Berkley Books. • The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It explores the unbalance of robot/human relationships under Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. It was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1987. It won the Locus Award for Best Short Story in 1987. It was written specifically for this volume and inspired by the Mc. Quarrie cover illustration. • All of the other stories had previously appeared in various other Asimov collections. Four of the stories are robot stories, while five are Multivac stories.