Paul Birch (25 May 1956 – 4 July 2012) was a British author, engineer, scientist and local councillor who worked in radioastronomy and satellite communications, and latterly wrote full time. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby and Trinity College, Cambridge and worked for Marconi Defence Systems and Plessey Radar.

He was a former Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS). Starting in 1982, Birch published a series of papers in the Journal of the BIS which described a remarkable range of advanced engineering concepts such as orbital rings, dynamic compression members and supramundane worlds. He also described ingenious methods of terraforming planets, and radiation shields for ships and habitats.

These concepts have been described in several pages on the Internet, including this wikipedia page, and have been used in science fiction scenarios such as the Orion's Arm Universe Project and elsewhere.

Articles in Orion's Arm inspired by Paul Birch's work include Space Fountains and Orbital Rings, Supramundane and Suprastellar Worlds, Artificial Planets, Ouaddai (Wadi) and Kiyoshi.

The Paul Birch Archive

A collection of Paul Birch's writings, including the papers published by the British Interplanetary Society, is available here;
The Paul Birch Archive.

His curriculum vitae is here.

See also

Acknowledgements

Scientists Futurists and Writers who have inspired the Orion's Arm Scenario