Brian Hayes is an American scientist

Scientist

A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...

, columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

 and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

.

He is a senior writer and regular columnist for the magazine American Scientist

American Scientist

American Scientist is the bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi. Each issue includes four to five feature articles written by scientists and engineers. These authors review research in all fields of science...

, and was editor in chief for the magazine from 1990 to 1992. He has also edited and written columns for Scientific American

Scientific American

Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...

, as well as writing for Computer Language and The Sciences

The Sciences

The Sciences was published from 1961 to 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences. Each issue contained articles that discussed science issues with cultural relevance, illustrated with fine art and an occasional cartoon. The periodical won seven National Magazine Awards over the course of its...

. He won a National Magazine Award for one of his essays in 1999.

He is the author of two books:

• Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape (W. W. Norton, 2005, ISBN 9780393329599).
• Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical Diversions (Hill and Wang, 2008; Macmillan, 2009, ISBN 9780809052172).

External links

• bit-player, Hayes' blog.
• Hayes' author page at The American Scientist, with links to all of his columns and book reviews.