Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a Russian-born American author, professor, and a prolific writer of science fiction and nonfiction. His writing was influenced by his experience during wartime, his relationships with other writers, and his background in biochemistry. During World War II, Asimov worked at the Naval Aviation Experimental Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and when the war was finished, he enrolled in graduate school at Columbia University, earning a PhD in chemistry in 1948. Asimov then joined the faculty at Boston University, where he taught for many years.

A six-time Hugo Award winner, Asimov is most famous for his Foundation and Robot series, and his work has been remade many times for film and television. Asimov was also well-known as a philosophical thinker, particularly in the field of ethics. One of his most famous theories, developed in conjunction with Astounding Science Fiction editor John W. Campbell, is called the “Three Laws of Robotics,” in which he sought to create a fail-safe ethical system for artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure that the technology would be beneficial and not harmful to humanity. The movie I, Robot, made in 2004 and starring Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan, is one example of Asimov’s work and its long-lasting popularity.