Abrams, Nancy Ellen 1949-

PERSONAL:

Born 1949; married Joel Primack (a cosmologist). Education: University of Chicago, B.A.; University of Michigan, J.D.; Escuela Libre de Derecho, diploma in international law.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Worked for international law firms, the Ford Foundation, and for the U.S. Congress. Musician, performing at concerts and on radio and television. Instructor at University of California, Santa Cruz.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Fulbright scholar; Woodrow Wilson designate; awards from Templeton Foundation and American Council of Learned Societies, for university course "Cosmology and Culture."

WRITINGS:

(With Joel R. Primack) The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos (nonfiction), Riverhead Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Environment, California Lawyer, and Science and Global Security. Published music CD, Alien Wisdom, 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

Nancy Ellen Abrams is a lawyer, musician, and teacher. Working with R. Stephen Berry, she developed a process called "scientific mediation," which aids government agencies in making policy decisions on matters involving controversial scientific findings. The goal of this method is to clarify the disputed issues for those involved in the decision-making process, as they may lack specialized knowledge of the matters under discussion.

Abrams and her husband, cosmologist Joel R. Primack, are the authors of The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos, in which they address cosmic questions about the nature of the universe. Their answers are built on an eclectic foundation of physics, politics, ecology, history, and philosophy. The View from the Center of the Universe is a "terrific book," according to Denise Dayton in Library Journal. While the authors "grapple gently" with those who think science has no place in cosmology, they also venture into "some odd corners of science," such as the notion of extraterrestrial beings, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer, who further noted that this book "reassures us that we all have a part" in the pattern of the universe.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

California Bookwatch, September 13, 2006, review of The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2006, review of The View from the Center of the Universe, p. 173.

Library Journal, February 1, 2006, Denise Dayton, review of The View from the Center of the Universe, p. 102.

Science News, April 29, 2006, review of The View from the Center of the Universe, p. 271.

ONLINE

University of California, Santa Cruz Web site,http://physics.ucsc.edu/ (October 26, 2006) biographical information about Nancy Abrams.

Nancy Abrams Home Page,http://www.expandinguniverse.org (October 26, 2006).

University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Physics Web site,http://physics.ucsc.edu/ (October 26, 2006), biography of Nancy Ellen Abrams.

View from the Center of the Universe,http://viewfromthecenter.com (October 26, 2006), biography of Nancy Ellen Abrams.*