Construction Science Fiction: The Judges

The judging panel for ENR's Imagining Construction's Future science fiction contest included two ENR editors, Jan Tuchman, editor-in-chief, and assistant editor Sigmund (Luke) Abaffy, as well as three guest judges: Liza Groen Trombi, a leading science fiction publisher; Paul Levinson, a notable science fiction author, and John Hillman a highly inventive practitioner from the construction industry.

Trombi is president of the Locus Science Fiction Foundation and editor-in-chief of Locus, "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field," which is published monthly in Oakland, Calif. Locus reports on the science fiction and fantasy publishing world and includes comprehensive listings of all new books published in the genre. It is considered the news organ and trade journal of choice for the English-language science fiction community. The magazine also presents the annual Locus Awards.

Levinson is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University, in New York City. His nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009; 2nd edition, 2012), have been translated into ten languages.

His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (winner of Locus Award for Best First Science Fiction Novel of 1999, author’s cut ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), The Consciousness Plague (2002), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To Save Socrates (2006, 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013) - the last two of which are historical as well as science fiction. He appears on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and numerous TV and radio programs. His 1972 LP, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2010. He reviews television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Top 10 Academic Twitterers" in 2009.

John Hillman is chairman and CEO at HC Bridge Co. He has more than 26 years of experience in the design, construction and inspection of bridge structures of all types, including arches, cable-stays, suspension, post-tensioned concrete, steel and composites. He is the winner of ENR’s 2010 Award of Excellence for the invention of a strong, lightweight, and long-lasting hybred composite beam with significant potential for the civil design and construction.

TROMBI

LEVINSON

HILLMAN

TUCHMAN

ABAFFY

Consulting Editor Tom Sawyer began his journalism career at the Atlantic City Press, in N.J. The former ENR editor expanded technology coverage and devised ENR's popular annual photo contest. Tom has also written memorable special reports from disaster and war zones, often taking the lead when earthquakes and hurricanes strike. His technology, disaster and war-related reporting has involved trips to Iraq, Haiti, Japan and other countries.

Post a comment to this article

Enhancing Collaboration and Surpassing Traditional Design-Build Methods with Progressive Design-Build

Earn: 1 PDH; 1 AIA LU/Elective; 0.1 IACET CEU

Progressive Design-Build is reshaping large infrastructure projects by addressing key issues with the traditional Design-Build approach. We'll explore how PDB fosters collaboration between owners, design-builders, and design teams to develop a well-defined scope and budget, plus minimizes cost overruns and reduces liability claims.