William E. Burrows | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1937-03-27)March 27, 1937 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 29, 2024(2024-06-29) (aged 87) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupations | Journalist, educator, author |
| Years active | 1962–2024 |
| Title | Assistant professor of journalism, 1974–2024 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Lara Julie |
| Academic background | |
| Education | BA 1960,MA 1962 |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Journalism |
| Sub-discipline | Science, Health, and Environment |
William Eli Burrows (March 27, 1937 – June 29, 2024) was an American author and journalism professor. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was educated atColumbia University and became assistant professor of journalism in 1974.[1]
Burrows grew up in Rego Park, New York, and graduated from Forest Hills High School. He held a BA and an MA fromColumbia University.[2]
He worked as a reporter for newspapers such asThe New York Times,The Washington Post,Foreign Affairs,[3] andThe Wall Street Journal. In 1970, he moved to Mallorca, Spain, where he worked as a travel writer. He moved back to the United States in 1974 and joined the Journalism department at New York University. He was tenured in 1981. In 1983, he founded The Science and Environmental Reporting Program (SERP) of New York University.
Burrows specialized in space andnational security issues and his latest book isThe Asteroid Threat. He publishedDeep Black, a seminal work on reconnaissance and espionage in 1986.
He was the co-founder of theAlliance to Rescue Civilization. He was also director emeritus of the Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program atNew York University. He is the author of twelve books and numerous articles inThe New York Times,The Washington Post,The Wall Street Journal,The Richmond Times-Dispatch,Foreign Affairs,Harvard Magazine,Harper's and other publications. His most recent book,The Asteroid Threat: Defending Our Planet From Deadly Near-Earth Objects, was published on June 10, 2014. Burrows was the only non-scientist on the National Research Council's Near-Earth Object Survey and Detection Panel. In recognition of his distinguished career and expertise, amain belt asteroid has been named after him, and he is a recipient of the American Astronautical Society John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award, among other honors.
Burrows married Joelle Hodgson in 1966, and divorced in 2005. They have one daughter, Lara Julie, a physician.[1] He died from kidney failure inBridgeport, Connecticut, on June 29, 2024, at the age of 87.[1]
Asteroid 9930 Billburrows was named for him.
William Burrows, who teaches journalism at NYU, here performs a tour de force. He reveals the existence of nearly all U.S. technical-intelligence systems and describes many of their capabilities. Nevertheless, he manages wildly to misunderstand what these systems can and cannot do.
Restricting the proliferation of military material, Burrows and Windrem argue, mainly requires multilateral political resolve. In all, an authoritative and accessible survey of a life-or- death issue.
An unquestionably valuable service, well-written and tremendously informed, for the families of airmen lost during the Cold War—and for everyone else now beginning to process the meaning of that part of recent history.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
