Gary L. Bennett was born January 17, 1940 in Twin Falls, Idaho. As a teenager he co-founded the Boise Rocket Research Society. Later, Dr. Bennett earned his Associate of Arts degree in science from Boise State University and a doctoral degree in Nuclear Physics from Washington State University in 1970. He went on to help develop power systems for the Voyager, Galileo and Ulysses space systems for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Starting with NASA in 1988, Gary Bennett worked as manager of the Advanced Space Propulsion Systems in the Transportation Division of the office of Advanced Concepts and Technology at NASA and served as program manager of NASA's nuclear propulsion technology program. Before working at NASA Dr. Bennett worked with the United States Department of Energy space radioisotope power program.
Mr. Bennett has written dozens of science fiction articles and is also a science fiction author, publishing The Star Sailors in 1980. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from BSU in 1990.
From the guide to the Gary L. Bennett Papers, 1963-2001, (Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives)
