Catherine Asaro
Catherine Asaro is an American author of science fiction and fantasy novels. She is best known for her Saga of the Skolian Empire series and also wrote the Lost Continent romantic fantasy series. Catherine earned her Ph.D in chemical physics and her M.A. in physics from Harvard University, as well as her B.S. in chemistry (with highest honours) from UCLA. Aside from writing, she also teaches math, physics and chemistry. Catherine is the daughter of Frank Asaro, who ended up being part of the team who brought up the theory of the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. She is married to NASA astrophysicist John Kendall Cannizzo. They have an adult daughter.