Sam Scheiner is a long-time fan and scientist. He grew up in the Pittsburgh area and got involved in fandom during college. At the University of Chicago, he reincarnated their science fiction club. He met his wife at Windycon in Chicago, and his child attended their first con at the age of 4 weeks, sleeping underneath a huckster table. He was the CFO for DisCon III and currently is involved in the Washington Science Fiction Association and is a past chair of the local convention—Capclave.
His scientific areas of expertise are ecology and evolution, and he has published 11 books, including The Ecology of Plants and The Theory of Ecology, and over 120 scientific papers. He also co-authored a book with SF author Phyllis Eisenstein on arthritis. He retired after working for 26 years as a Program Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation, having escaped just in time, but continues as an active researcher.
