Dan Alderson
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(October 31, 1941 – May 17, 1989)
Dan Alderson was an LA fan and member of LASFS. He was was an Official Editor of the comics APA CAPA-alpha and a member of TAPS and APA-L.
He worked at JPL and wrote navigation software for the Voyager spacecraft. The character "Dan Forrester" in Niven and Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer was modeled on him ("Ald" could be short for the German "wald" for "forest") and the Alderson Drive was named after him.
In spite of his considerable intelligence, his self-esteem was notoriously low. He joked about it, and in one famous incident said, "We could always hold a self-denigration contest. Of course I'd lose." cracking up his driver and nearly the car. But he also meant it.
| Person | 1941—1989 |
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