Awarded two HUGO and five NEBULA AWARDS for his fiction, as well as being one of only two authors to win a NEBULA in every category, Bear has been called the 'Best working writer of hard science fiction' by THE ULTIMATE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION. Bear has served on political and scientific action committees and has advised Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Army, the CIA, Sandia National Laboratories, Callison Architecture, Inc., Homeland Security, and other groups and agencies.