Forward earned his doctorate from the
University of Maryland in 1965, with a thesis entitled
Detectors for Dynamic Gravitational Fields, for the development of a
bar antenna for the detection of
gravitational radiation.
Career and research He then went to work at the research labs of
Hughes Aircraft, where he continued his research on gravity measurement and received 18
patents. He took early retirement in 1987, to focus on his fiction writing and consulting for such clients as
NASA and the
U.S. Air Force. In 1994, he co-founded the company
Tethers Unlimited, Inc. with
Robert P. Hoyt, where he served as chief scientist and chairman until 2002. Much of his research focused on the leading edges of speculative physics but was always grounded in what he believed humans could accomplish. He worked on such projects as
space tethers and
space fountains,
solar sails (including
Starwisp),
antimatter propulsion, and other
spacecraft propulsion technologies, and did further research on more esoteric possibilities such as
time travel and
negative matter. He was issued a patent for the
statite, and contributed to a concept to
drain the Van Allen Belts.
Forward Mass Detector Forward's extensive work in the field of
gravitational wave detection included the invention of the rotating cruciform
gravity gradiometer or 'Forward Mass Detector', for Lunar
Mascon (mass concentration) measurements. The gravity gradiometer is described in the well-known textbook
Gravitation by Misner, Thorne & Wheeler. The principle behind it is quite simple; getting the implementation right is tricky. Essentially, two beams are crossed over and connected with an axle through their crossing point. They are held at right angles to each other by springs. They have heavy masses at the ends of the beams, and the whole assembly spun around the common axle at high speed. The angle between the beams is measured continuously, and if it varies with a period half that of the rotation period, it means that the detector is experiencing a measurable gravitational field gradient.
Vacuum Fluctuation Battery In 1984, Forward published his theoretical design for a "Casimir battery", utilizing the electromagnetic
Zero-point energy and the attractive force associated. The Casimir force would pull the plates together, if the plates were charged with same polarity and the electrostatic force applied to the plates is adjusted. The Casimir force will pull the plates together increasing the electric field between each plate and producing a voltage. The battery could be "recharged" by increasing the electrostatic force, pushing the plates apart.
Fiction In addition to more than 200 papers and articles, he published 11 novels. Critics' reviews were mixed, always praising the science concepts and the aliens he created, but often finding the plots thin and the humans shallow. His novel
Rocheworld describes a double-planet system with a single shared atmosphere and ocean, and a
beam-powered propulsion interstellar space ship to get there. Forward co-authored two Rocheworld novels with his wife,
Martha Dodson Forward, and two additional Rocheworld novels with his second daughter, Julie Fuller. Forward also helped
Larry Niven calculate the parameters of the
Smoke Ring for his novel
The Integral Trees. Much of his scientific research in speculative physics serves as inspiration for science fiction, many of his ideas on
Zero-point energy,
Interstellar travel and propulsion can be found in contemporary and modern scientific fiction.
Personal life Forward's son,
Bob Forward, has led a successful career as a storyboard artist and writer in television animation, including in
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,
The Legend of Zelda, and most famously,
Beast Wars. He is also the author of two novels,
The Owl and
The Owl 2: Scarlet Serenade. Forward's daughter,
Eve Forward, is also a writer, known for her two novels
Villains by Necessity and
Animist.
Death In 2001, Forward received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. He died on September 21, 2002. == Publications==