Miller, Ron 1947–

Personal

Born May 8, 1947, in Minneapolis, MN; son of Robert (an engineer) and Marilynn (an office manager) Miller; married Judith Toth (a model maker), July 3, 1972. Education: Columbus College of Art and Design, B.F. A., 1970.

Addresses

Home and office—906 Caroline St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401. E-mail—spaceart@embarqmail.com.

Career

Artist, author, and editor. National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, art director for Albert Einstein Spacearium, 1972-77; Black Cat Studios, Fredericksburg, VA, owner, 1977—. Space art consultant to Starlog; co-administrator of Bonestell Space Art; created commemorative stamps for U.S. Postal Service. Film works includes production illustrator for Dune and Total Recall; conceptual artist and consultant for films, including Contact; designer and co-creator of Comet Impact! (computer-generated film); conceptual artist on documentaries and short films. International Space University, member of faculty; Presenter at numerous international space art workshops and exhibitions; lecturer on space art throughout the world. Exhibitions: Works included in numerous public and private collections, including Smithsonian Institution and Pushkin Museum (Moscow, Russia).

Member

International Academy of Astronautics, International Association for the Astronomical Arts (former trustee), North American Jules Verne Society, British Interplanetary Society (fellow).

Awards, Honors

Hugo Award nominations, 1981, for The Grand Tour, 1987, for Cycles of Fire, 1990, for In the Stream of Stars, 1992, for The History of Earth; American Institute of Physics Award of Excellence, for "Worlds Beyond" series; Hugo Award in nonfiction category (with Frederick C. Durant III and Melvin H. Schuetz), 2002, for The Art of Chesley Bonnestell; ForeWord Silver Award, for Palaces and Prisons; IAF Manuscript Award nomination, for The Dream Machines; Violet Crown Award, Writer's League of Texas, for Bradamant; honorary member of Sociétè Jules Verne.

Writings

NONFICTION

(Editor and contributor) Space Art, Starlog, 1978.

(Editor and contributor) Space Art Poster Book, Stackpole, 1979.

(With William K. Hartmann) The Grand Tour: A Traveler's Guide to the Solar System, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1981, third revised edition, 2005.

(With F.C. Durant III) Worlds Beyond: The Art of Chesley Bonnestell, Donning, 1983.

(With William K. Hartmann and Pam Lee) Out of the Cradle: Exploring Frontiers beyond Earth, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1984.

(Editor with Jim Kenney) Fireball and the Lotus: Emerging Spirituality from Ancient Roots, Bear & Company (Sante Fe, NM), 1987.

Decalomania: A Tourist's Handbook and Guide, Black Cat Press (Fredericksburg, VA), 1987.

Mathematics, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1989.

(With Andrei Sokolov and Vitaly Myagkov) In the Stream of Stars: The Soviet-American Space Art Book, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1990.

The History of Earth, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1992.

The Dream Machines: An Illustrated History of the Spaceship in Art, Science, and Literature, Krieger (Malabar, FL), 1993.

Extraordinary Voyages, Black Cat Press (Fredericksburg, VA), 1994.

Brainquest, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1994.

The History of Rockets, Grolier (Danbury, CT), 1999.

The History of Science Fiction, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Frederick C. Durant III and Melvin H. Schuetz) The Art of Chesley Bonnestell, Sterling, 2001.

Extrasolar Planets, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2002.

Special Effects: An Introduction to Movie Magic, Twenty-first Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

The Elements: What You Really Want to Know, Twenty-first Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

Extreme Aircraft, Collins (New York, NY), 2007.

Ellen Jackson, Worlds around Us: A Space Voyage, Millbrook Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Digital Art: Painting with Pixels, Twenty-first Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2008.

Contributing editor, Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine.

"WORLDS BEYOND" SERIES; CHILDREN'S NONFICTION

The Sun, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2002.

Jupiter, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2002.

Earth and the Moon, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2003.

Mercury and Pluto, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2003.

Saturn, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2003.

Venus, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2003.

Uranus and Neptune, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2003.

Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2005.

Stars and Galaxies, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2006.

Mars, Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2006.

"SPACE INNOVATIONS" SERIES; CHILDREN'S NONFICTION

Robot Explorers, Twenty-first Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Satellites, Twenty-first Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Space Exploration, Twenty-first Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Rockets, Lerner (Minneapolis, MN), 2008.

FICTION

Palaces and Prisons ("Bronwyn Trilogy"), Ace (New York, NY), 1991.

Silk and Steel ("Bronwyn Trilogy"), Ace (New York, NY), 1991.

Hearts and Armor ("Bronwyn Trilogy"), Ace (New York, NY), 1992.

Bradamant, Timberwolf Press, 2000.

Mermaids and Meteors, Timberwolf Press, 2002.

Velda (detective novel), Timberwolf Press, 2003.

13 Steps to Velda (short stories), Black Cat Press (Fredericksburg, VA), 2005.

Captain Judikah, Black Cat Press (Fredericksburg, VA), 2005.

Pathetic Sections, Black Cat Press (Fredericksburg, VA), 2005.

ILLUSTRATOR

Roy A. Gallant, The Macmillan Book of Astronomy, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1986.

William K. Hartmann, Cycles of Fire: Stars, Galaxies, and the Wonder of Deep Space, Workman (New York, NY), 1987.

Christopher Lampton, Stars and Planets, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1988.

Mark R. Chartrand, Planets: A Guide to the Solar System, Golden Press (New York, NY), 1990.

Barbara Brenner, Planetarium, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1993.

(And translator) Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, DK (New York, NY), 1998.

Pamela Sargent, Firebrands: Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Paper Tiger, 1998.

Alain Dupas, Destination Mars, Firefly Books, 2000.

(And translator) Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Black Cat Press (Fredericksburg, VA), 2005.

Ellen Jackson, Worlds around Us: A Space Voyage, Millbrook Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Contributor of illustrations to magazines, including National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Discover, Geo, Future, Natural History, Newsweek, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Air & Space, Sky & Telescope, Passages, Starlog, L5 News, Future, and Science Digest.

Sidelights

Ron Miller worked as a commercial advertising illustrator before concentrating his art on his primary area of interest: space science. A job as art director of the National Air & Space Museum's Albert Einstein Planetarium in the early 1970s led Miller to a successful career as a freelance artist and writer, and his expertise on space art, as well as on the writings of Jules Verne, have resulted in numerous other opportunities within his chosen field. In addition to his illustration work, Miller is the author or editor of astronomy-and science-based nonfiction as well as fiction. In addition to his work as an author and artist, he has also worked as production illustrator and designer on motion pictures, among them Dune and Total Recall.

The books in Miller's "Worlds Beyond" and "Space Innovations" series are designed to inspire younger readers with the same fascination with science that has fueled his own career. Comprised of eleven volumes, including The Sun, Extrasolar Planets, and Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors, the award-winning "Worlds Beyond" books pair dozens of Miller's illustrations with a detailed, fact-centered text. Other books for teen readers include The Elements: What You Really Want to Know and The Dream Machines: An Illustrated History of the Spaceship in Art, Science, and Literature, the latter a 750-page illustrated history of the space ship, beginning with conceptual vehicles devised by the ancient Greeks through those actually in use by the twenty-first century.

One of Miller's best-known books for general readers, The Grand Tour: A Traveler's Guide to the Solar System, was coauthored by William K. Hartmann and first published in 1981. Revised and updated in 1993 and again in 2005, The Grand Tour is considered a classic in its field. The new edition draws on discoveries made by Voyager I and II, Magellan, Galileo, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Mars Global Surveyor Mission and other space initiatives, providing budding astronomers with timely information on subjects about which much is still to be discovered. The Grand Tour is enhanced by over a hundred paintings by the author.

As Miller once noted of his work: "My main interest is in making astronomy understandable to the public, especially in making the planets in our solar system seem to be real places. I particularly enjoy playing ‘Mr. Wizard’ and making science fun for kids."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of Special Effects: An Introduction to Movie Magic, p. 43.

Future, November, 1978, review of Space Art.

School Library Journal, March, 2006, Maren Ostergard, review of The Elements: What You Really Want to Know, p. 244; June, 2006, Tim Wadham, review of Special Effects, p. 182.

Science Teacher, November, 2003, John Cirucci, review of Venus, pp. 88-89.

ONLINE

Ron Miller Home Page,http://www.black-cat-studios.com (December 5, 2007).