John Brandenburg was born in Rochester Minnesota and grew up in Medford Oregon. He obtained his bachelor's degree in physics at Southern Oregon University, and his MS in Applied Science at University of California at Davis, and also hie PhD in plasma Physics at UC Davis extension at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories studying controlled fusion using magnetic fields to confine plasma. John .E. Brandenburg is a Senior Propulsion Scientist at Orbital Technologies Inc. after being a researcher at Florida Space Institute having come there from The Aerospace Corporation, where one of his duties was as principle investigator of the MET (Microwave Electro-Thermal) propulsion project. He also performed an architecture study for a Human Mars Mission using solar electric propulsion. He also performed research on Fusion Propulsion and Kaluza-Klein theory of Field Unification for purposes of space propulsion. Before coming to Aerospace corporation Dr. Brandenburg was a researcher at Research Support Instruments (RSI) where he specialized in making controlled plasmas for uses ranging from Fusion Energy research to the MET thruster. He also worked as an independent consultant on Space Missile Defense, Directed Energy Weapons, and space rocket plume phenomenology, and also at Mission Research Corporation and Sandia National Laboratories on plasmas for controlled fusion and similar topics. He has written 4 books : Dead Mars Dying Earth on Global Warming and Energy problems with Monica Rix Paxton, which won the 2000 silver Ben Franlikn award for best environmental or science book. Two sci-fi novels : "Asteroid 2012 Sepulveda" and its sequel "Morningstar Pass the Collapse of the UFO Cover Up" under the pen name "Victor Norgarde" and most recently the Mars science book: Life and Death on Mars: The New Mars Synthesis" which describes a new concept of mars geochemical and biological history. - www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com