Science Book Editing Projects – Highlights
Developmental / Managing Editor
(Complete List Below Highlights)
Multi-Author Science Book: The Astronomy Revolution: 400 Years of Exploring the Cosmos – CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, 2012
Book Review: The Astronomy Revolution: 400 Years of Exploring the Cosmos
Project Description: The Astronomy Revolution, published by CRC Press / Taylor & Francis Group (UK) in 2012, is a full-color research volume celebrating achievements in astronomy both past and present from the perspectives of both Eastern and Western scientific and cultural traditions. These two vastly different civilizations contributed greatly and equally to our common goal of exploring the Universe we all inhabit—and never stop wondering at.
Ellipsis Services: Developmental/managing editor under a contract from the University of Chicago, working closely with an international group of eminent researchers in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and the history and philosophy of science:
- Researched various publishing options to determine the optimum venue for producing a full-color academic research volume
- Created the book proposal, identified and secured a publisher (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group, UK), helped negotiate the publishing agreement, and served as the primary liaison between the publisher, volume editors, and authors.
- Assisted the volume editors in developing the content and structure of this 26-author book, providing overall book-development, editorial, and administrative guidance and support.
- Developed author guidelines, created writing templates in Word and LaTeX, and managed the flow of chapter drafts and reviews.
- Copyedited chapters, compiled the front matter, secured copyright permissions, and prepared the content in Word, LaTeX, and graphics files for submission to the publisher.
- Oversaw the publisher’s production process from copyediting through page-proof reviews and creation of marketing copy.
Book Contributors: Ellipsis was privileged to work with the following editors and authors, many of whom had participated in the highly successful conference New Vision 400 held at Peking University in Beijing in October 2008 that served as the basis for this book:
- Donald G. York, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the University of Chicago — Symposium chair and chief volume editor
- Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics — Symposium advisory committee member, volume editor, and chapter author
- Shuang-Nan Zhang, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Department of Physics, University of Alabama —Symposium program committee member, volume editor, and chapter author
- Charles L. Harper, Jr., Vision-Five.com Consulting (formerly of the John Templeton Foundation) — Program developer
- Charles A. Beichman, NASA ExoPlanet Science Institute, California Institute of Technology and Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Chapter author
- Elliott D. Bloom, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Alan H. Bridle, National Radio Astronomy Observatory — Chapter author (co-author with K. Y. Lo)
- Paul C. W. Davies, The Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- George F. R. Ellis, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town — Symposium advisory committee member and speaker and chapter author
- Richard S. Ellis, Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Glennys R. Farrar, Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics and Department of Physics, New York University — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Alexei V. Filippenko, Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Riccardo Giacconi, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University — Symposium public event speaker and chapter author
- Peter Harrison, Ian Ramsey Centre, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Yi-Long Huang, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Renata Kallosh, Department of Physics, Stanford University — Symposium speaker and chapter author (co-author with Andre Linde)
- Yung Sik Kim, Department of Asian History and Program in History and Philosophy of Science, Seoul National University — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Tsung-Dao Lee, Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, and China Center of Advanced Science and Technology (World Laboratory) — Symposium public event speaker and chapter author
- Andre Linde, Department of Physics, Stanford University — Chapter author (co-author with Renata Kallosh)
- Xiao-Wei Liu, Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University — Symposium program committee member and speaker and chapter author
- K. Y. Lo, National Radio Astronomy Observatory — Symposium advisory committee member and speaker and chapter author (co-author with Alan H. Bridle)
- Geoffrey W. Marcy, Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley — Symposium public event speaker and chapter author
- Ben Moore, Institute for Theoretical Physics and Professor of Astrophysics, University of Zürich — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Sara Seager, Departments of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Michael Shao, Space Interferometry Mission and Keck Interferometer and Interferometry Center of Excellence, Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Symposium program committee member and speaker and chapter author
- Mark Sullivan, Department of Physics/Astrophysics, University of Oxford — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Xiao-Chun Sun, Institute for the History of Natural Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences — Symposium speaker and chapter author
- Naoki Yoshida, Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, University of Tokyo— Symposium speaker and chapter author
Multi-Author Science Book: Visions of Discovery: New Light on Physics, Cosmology, and Consciousness – Cambridge University Press, 2011
Project Description: “Visions of Discovery” was a multifaceted program consisting of a conference and a subsequent book. It was created and funded by a philanthropic organization to honor the work of Nobel Laureate Charles H. Townes, inventor of the maser, which led to development of the laser. The program assembled some of the greatest minds in physics, cosmology, philosophy, and other disciplines for an exploration of awe-inspiring challenges in 21st-century science. The program looked to shed “new light” on topics ranging from physics and cosmology to human consciousness, examining some of the most important and fundamental questions of science, philosophy, and the nature of existence: How did the universe begin? Why do the fundamental constants of nature have the values they do? What is human consciousness, and do we have free will?
Ellipsis Services: Ellipsis was contracted to help organize and manage the content of the program’s three-day academic “Amazing Light” symposium held at the University of California, Berkeley, in honor of the 90th birthday year of Charles H. Townes. The meeting assembled 18 Nobel Laureates and hundreds of researchers and students from physics, cosmology, philosophy, and other disciplines. Following the conference, Ellipsis was contracted to serve as developmental/managing editor of the resulting book, Visions of Discovery: New Light on Physics, Cosmology, and Consciousness, published by Cambridge University Press (UK) in 2010. The book featured contributions from more than 40 renowned scholars and researchers, including a dozen Nobel Laureates.
Symposium Planning and Management
- Assisted the funding organization and the grantee, the Metanexus Institute, in organizing and managing the academic content and structure of the “Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery” symposium held on October 6-8, 2005, at the University of California, Berkeley.
- Issued invitations and participant instructions, managed all communications, and helped develop the content of the symposium website and collateral materials.
Book Development and Editing
- Assisted a distinguished group of volume editors in the development of the resulting 38-chapter book, assuming complete responsibility for project management by providing book-development, editorial, and administrative guidance and support.
- Created the book proposal, secured a publisher, and served as the primary liaison between the publisher, volume editors, and authors.
- Developed author guidelines, facilitated chapter reviews and external refereeing of controversial submissions, managed the flow of chapter drafts, and secured permissions.
- Copyedited chapters, performed language edits, compiled the front matter, and prepared the content in Word, LaTeX, and graphics files for submission to the publisher.
- Coordinated the production process on behalf of the volume editors and authors, addressing copyediting queries, reviewing page proofs, managing the flow of author corrections, and ensuring proper distribution of complimentary copies.
Book Contributors: Ellipsis was privileged to work with the following people on this project:
- Raymond Y. Chiao, School of Natural Sciences and School of Engineering, University of California, Merced — Volume editor and chapter author
- Marvin L. Cohen, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, and Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Volume editor and chapter author
- Anthony J. Leggett, Center for Advanced Study, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Volume editor and chapter author
- William D. Phillips, Joint Quantum Institute and University of Maryland — Volume editor
- Charles L. Harper, Jr., Vision-Five.com Consulting (formerly of the John Templeton Foundation) — Program developer and volume editor
- Charles H. Townes, Department of Astrophysics, Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley— Honoree and Foreword and chapter author
- Freeman J. Dyson, School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton — Preface author
- Roy J. Glauber, Department of Physics, Harvard University — Laureates’ preface author
- John L. Hall, NIST, JILA, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder — Laureates’ preface author
- Theodor W. Hänsch, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, and Department of Physics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich — Laureates’ preface author
- Wolfgang Ketterle, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Laureates’ preface author
And 34 additional distinguished authors from the fields of physics, astronomy, neuroscience, biology, ecology, history and philosophy of science, philosophy, and theology: Yakir Aharonov, Department of Physics, Computational Science and Engineering, Schmid College of Science, Chapman University, and School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University (co-author with Jeffrey Tollaksen); Robert C. Bishop, Physics Department, Wheaton College; Raphael Bousso, Center for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory;Nancy L. Cartwright, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego;Steven Chu, US Department of Energy; Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; J. Ignacio Cirac, Theory Division, Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching; Paul C. W. Davies, Beyond: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University; Gerald M. Edelman, The Neurosciences Institute, San Diego; George F. R. Ellis, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, and Department of Astronomy, Queen Mary, London University; Gerald Gabrielse, Department of Physics, Harvard University, and ATRAP Collaboration, CERN; Peter L. Galison, Department of the History of Science and Department of Physics, Harvard University; Reinhard Genzel, Max-Planck Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, and Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley; David J. Gross, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara; Steven S. Gubser, Department of Physics, Princeton University; John L. Heilbron, Department of History, University of California, Berkeley, and Worcester College, University of Oxford; Klaus Hepp, Institute for Theoretical Physics and Institute for Neuroinformatics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) (co-author with Christof Koch); Michio Kaku, Department of Theoretical Physics, City University of New York; Marc Kamionkowski, Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology; Brian G. Keating, Department of Physics and Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California, San Diego;Christof Koch, Division of Biology and Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, and Institute for Neuroinformatics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) (co-author with Klaus Hepp); Antoine Labeyrie, Department of Observational Astrophysics, College of France, and Laboratory of Stellar and Exoplanetary Interferometry (LISE), Observatories of Haute Provence and Cote d’Azur; Adrian T. Lee, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, and Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Nancey Murphy, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary; William T. Newsome, Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Saul Perlmutter, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Robert J. Russell, The Graduate Theological Union and The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley; Vaclav Smil, Faculty of Environment, University of Manitoba; Marin Soljacic, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Max Tegmark, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Foundational Questions Institute; Jeffrey Tollaksen, Department of Physics, Computational Science, and Engineering, Schmid College of Science, Chapman University (co-author with Yakir Aharonov);Frank Wilczek, Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jun Ye, JILA, NIST, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder; Anton Zeilinger, Department of Physics, University of Vienna, and Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences; Ahmed H. Zewail, Department of Physics and Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science & Technology, California Institute of Technology
All Scientific Editing Projects (Developmental Editor, Science Books; Conference Organizer; Grantee)
THE ASTRONOMY REVOLUTION: 400 YEARS OF EXPLORING THE COSMOS. Volume Editors: Donald G. York, Owen Gingerich, and Shuang-Nan Zhang. Publisher: CRC Press / Taylor & Francis Group, 2012.
KURT GÖDEL AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF MATHEMATICS: HORIZONS OF TRUTH. Volume Editors: Matthias Baaz, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Dana S. Scott, Hilary Putnam, and Charles L. Harper, Jr. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Also helped organize conference in Vienna, Austria, 2006.
DEEP BEAUTY: UNDERSTANDING THE QUANTUM WORLD THROUGH MATHEMATICAL INNOVATION in honor of John von Neumann. Volume Editor: Hans Halvorson. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Also organized conference in Princeton, 2007.
INFINITY: NEW RESEARCH FRONTIERS. Volume Editors: Michael Heller and Hugh Woodin. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
VISIONS OF DISCOVERY: NEW LIGHT ON PHYSICS, COSMOLOGY, AND CONSCIOUSNESS in honor of Charles H. Townes. Volume Editors: Raymond Y. Chiao, Marvin L. Cohen, Anthony J. Leggett, William D. Phillips, and Charles L. Harper, Jr. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Also helped organize conference at the University of California, Berkeley, 2005.
WATER AND LIFE: THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF H2O in honor of Lawrence J. Henderson. Volume Editors: Ruth M. Lynden-Bell, Simon Conway Morris, John D. Barrow, John L. Finney, and Charles L. Harper, Jr. Publisher: CRC Press / Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. Also organized conference in Varenna, Italy, 2005.
FITNESS OF THE COSMOS FOR LIFE: BIOCHEMISTRY AND FINE-TUNING in honor of Lawrence J. Henderson. Volume Editors: John D. Barrow, Simon Conway Morris, Stephen J. Freeland, and Charles L. Harper, Jr. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Also organized conference at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, 2003.
SCIENCE AND ULTIMATE REALITY: QUANTUM THEORY, COSMOLOGY AND COMPLEXITY in honor of John A. Wheeler. Volume Editors: John D. Barrow, Paul C. W. Davies, and Charles L. Harper, Jr. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Also helped organize conference in Princeton, 2002.
ELLIPSIS EDITING 