Grant Heiken is an expert in volcanology and interdisciplinary urban studies, having investigated volcanic regions on four continents and the Moon and co-written or edited 10 books, including Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change (1997). He holds a PhD in geology and has worked for NASA during the Apollo program as a researcher and a geology instructor for astronauts. For many years he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory on geothermal development, many aspects of volcanology from hazard analysis to scientific drilling, and integrated urban science. He was President of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior from 1995 to 1999, and now works as a freelance writer.
