Milton A. Rothman

Milton A. Rothman
Born	November 30, 1919 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	October 6, 2001 (aged 81) Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Pen name	Lee Gregor
Occupation	Nuclear physicist, academic, science fiction fan, science fiction short story writer
Nationality	United States
Genre	Science fiction
Notable works	Heavy Planet and Other Science Fiction Stories, The Laws of Physics

Milton A. Rothman (November 30, 1919 – October 6, 2001) was a United States nuclear physicist and college professor.

He was also an active science fiction fan and a co-founder of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. An occasional author as well, he published stories usually with the pseudonym "Lee Gregor".

Biography

Rothman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Central High School. He attended Oregon State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in engineering, and graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his doctorate in physics during 1952.

Rothman died at Wyncote, in 2001, of heart failure, from complications due to diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

His complete science fiction stories were published posthumously during 2004 by Wildside Press with the title Heavy Planet and Other Science Fiction Stories edited by Darrell Schweitzer and Lee Weinstein.

Milton Rothman's son is science fiction writer Tony Rothman.

Professional career

After receiving his doctorate, Rothman spent the next seven years investigating nuclear energy at the Bartol Research Foundation in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. From 1959 until 1969, he worked at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory on Project Matterhorn, which studied methods of heating ionized gas to very great temperatures. During 1963, while working in the laboratory, he wrote The Laws of Physics (ISBN 0-4650-3860-3).

During 1969, Rothman joined the faculty at Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey). He retired from teaching during 1979.

Fandom

He was an active science fiction fan from an early age. Besides co-founding the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, Rothman also organized the first Philcon science fiction convention in October 1936. The event consisted of 9 people, including future science fiction author/editors Frederik Pohl and Donald A. Wollheim, and was held, in part, in Rothman's home. Rothman published his fanzine "Milty's Mag" sporadically over a few years in the early forties. Rothman later chaired the 1947 and 1953 Philcons. The first Hugo award was presented at the 1953 Philcon.

In honor of Dr. Rothman's lifetime of work in science fiction fandom, his name was voted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame during 1998.

References

• "Founders of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society". The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society homepage. Retrieved 2005-12-11.
• "First Fandom Hall of Fame Award". First Fandom. Retrieved 2005-12-11.
• "Heavy Planet and other Science Fiction Stories". Retrieved 2010-06-05.

External links

• Milton A. Rothman at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database