Wil McCarthy

Wil McCarthy (born September 16, 1966, Princeton, New Jersey) is a science fiction novelist, Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards (an aerospace research corporation), and the science columnist for Syfy. He currently resides in Colorado.

Wil McCarthy invented the Wellstone, or Programmable matter concept: Programmable Matter smart material is any bulk substance whose physical properties can be adjusted in real time through the application of light, voltage, electric or magnetic fields, etc. Primitive forms may allow only limited adjustment of one or two traits (e.g., the "photodarkening" or "photochromic" materials found in light-sensitive sunglasses), but there are theoretical forms which, using known principles of electronics, should be capable of emulating a broad range of naturally occurring materials, or of exhibiting unnatural properties which cannot be produced by other means.

Books

Non-fiction

• Hacking Matter(2003) ISBN 0-465-04428-X

Novels

• Flies from the Amber (1995) ISBN 0-451-45406-5
• Murder in the Solid State (1996) ISBN 0-312-85938-4
• Bloom (1998) ISBN 0-345-40857-8

The Waisters

• Aggressor Six (1994) ISBN 0-451-45405-7
• The Fall of Sirius (1996) ISBN 0-451-45485-5

The Queendom of Sol

• The Collapsium (2000) ISBN 0-345-40856-X
• The Wellstone (2003) ISBN 0-553-58446-4
• Lost in Transmission (2004) ISBN 0-553-58447-2
• To Crush the Moon (2005) ISBN 0-553-58717-X — Nebula Award nominee.

Short works

• "Amerikano Hiaika", Aboriginal SF, May/June 1991.
• "Dirtyside Down", Universe 3, 1994.
• "The Dream of Houses", Analog, November 1995. Locus recommended reading list.
• "The Dream of Castles", Analog, April 1997.
• "The Dream of Nations", Analog, October 1998. Locus recommended reading list.
• "Once Upon a Matter Crushed", Science Fiction Age, May 1999. Theodore Sturgeon Award Nominee. Locus recommended reading list. Became the first portion of The Collapsium.
• "Programmable Matter, A Retrospective", Nature, October 6, 2000.
• "No Job Too Small", Aboriginal SF, Spring 2001.
• "Pavement Birds", Analog, July/August 2002.
• "Garbage Day", Analog, December 2002. Became part of The Wellstone.

Non-fiction articles

• "Ultimate Alchemy", Wired Magazine 9.10, October, 2001
• "This looks like a job for...Superatoms", IEEE Spectrum, August, 2005

External links

• WilMcCarthy.com
• Wil McCarthy at SFF.net
• Wil McCarthy at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Wil McCarthy at IMDB
• Wil McCarthy U.S. patents