The NSS International Space Development Conference will be held in McLean, VA, June 4-7, 2026
Famed science fiction author Dr. David Brin will be a keynote speaker at the National Space Society’s International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®), which runs from June 4-7 in McLean, Virginia. The general public is invited to attend and more information can be found at the event website, isdc.nss.org.
Brin will also receive the coveted NSS Arthur C. Clarke Memorial Award for his pivotal writing in sci-fi and futurism. Initiated in 2025, the Clarke award seeks to recognize individuals who, like Arthur C. Clarke, have used creative, scientifically grounded storytelling or media to foster curiosity and enthusiasm about space exploration and contributing to public understanding and support for space development, and Brin is an exemplar of this.
Brin holds a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics from Caltech and an MS in optics and PhD in physics from UC San Diego. He is also Caltech Distinguished Alumnus. His vast body of work in fiction has won him the Hugo Award, Locus Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and Nebula Award for science fiction. Brin’s novel The Postman as adapted into the 1997 motion picture of the same name starring Kevin Costner.
Brin is an author, scientist, keynote speaker, and technical consultant. He is a fellow of the Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technologies and was a co-founder of the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at UC San Diego. Brin also served for 15 years on the advisory board of NASA’s Innovative and Advanced Concepts group (NIAC) and provides visionary consulting for corporations and governmental agencies.
Brin’s work in fiction spans full-length novels, short stories, graphic novels, and both video and board games. He has also written numerous nonfiction works on extraterrestrial civilizations, privacy and freedom in technological society, and papers in professional journals. Brin has also written articles for general outlets like Popular Science, Room, Salon.com, and Analog magazine. He appears frequently on television, including The Universe and the History Channel’s Life After People. He also was a regular cast member on The ArciTECHS.
In forward-looking fiction, his 1989 ecological thriller Earth foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare, and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. His 2012 novel Existence explored bioengineering, artificial and natural intelligence, and how to maintain an open-creative civilization.
