Manuel Alfonseca
Manuel Alfonseca | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 24, 1946 Spain |
| Occupation(s) | Author, university professor |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Known for | Writing in computer science, popular science, historical fiction, science fiction, and young adult literature; academic teaching and research |
Manuel Alfonseca (born April 24, 1946) is a Spanish author and university professor. He is the son of the artist Manuel Alfonseca Santana, known for his painting and sculpture.
Career
Alfonseca holds a doctorate in communications engineering along with a Computer Science degree. He spent 22 years at IBM (1972–1994) as a Senior Technical Staff Member. His academic career includes teaching positions at Complutense de Madrid, Politécnica de Madrid, and currently at Autónoma de Madrid, where he was a full professor and led the Escuela Politécnica Superior from 2001 to 2004. Presently, he holds the title of honorary professor there.
Throughout his career, he has authored approximately two hundred technical articles in both Spanish and English, as well as numerous popular science pieces featured in prominent newspapers and online platforms.
Alfonseca’s literary output exceeds fifty titles covering areas such as computer science, popular science, historical fiction, science fiction, and literature for young adults.
Awards
Among his honors are the Lazarillo Award (1988), the La Brújula Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2012), three IBM Outstanding Technical Achievements Awards (1981, 1983, 1985), and an IBM Technical Paper Award (1989). He has frequently been shortlisted and included on various honor rolls.
Works
- Novels
a) Fantasy
a1) Series: The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle
- The journey of Tivo the Dauntless (English edition of El viaje de Tivo el Arriesgado, 1986)
- The mystery of the Black Lake
- The Silver Swan
- The secret of the ice field
- The lost continent
a2) Standalone
- La aventura de Sir Karel de Nortumbria (1990, 2002)
- Ennia in Fairie (English version of Ennia, 1993)
b) Historical
b1) Series: The Aeolian Family
- The Seal of Aeolus (English translation of El sello de Eolo, 2000)
- The Emerald Tablet (English edition of La tabla esmeralda, 2004)
- The Tartessian Crown (English translation of La corona tartesia, 2012; IV La Brújula Award recipient)
b2) Other works
- The ruby of the Ganges (English translation of El rubí del Ganges, 1989; Lazarillo Award winner 1988)
- The Heirloom of King Scorpion (English version of La herencia del rey Escorpión, 1989; finalist Lazarillo Award 1987)
- Hidden Hand (English translation of Mano Escondida, 1991)
- The water of life (English edition of El agua de la vida, 1998)
- Una cuestión de honor (1998)
c) Science Fiction
c1) Series: Solar System
- Under an orange sky (English version of Bajo un cielo anaranjado, 1992)
- Descent into the hell of Venus (English edition of Descenso al infierno de Venus, 1999)
- Operation Quatuor (English translation, 2016)
- Operation Viginti (2023)
c2) Series: The Earth-9 Colony
- The history of the Earth-9 colony (2013)
- The Earth-9 colony revisited (2022)
c3) Additional titles
- A face in time (English version of Un Rostro en el Tiempo, 1989; finalist CCEI Award)
- Beyond the black hole
- The last dinosaur
- Jacob's ladder
- Los moradores de la noche (finalist for best independent national novel, 2013)
d) Mystery and intrigue
d1) Series: The Sleuths of the Spanish Transition
- Includes titles such as: Quetzalcoatl's Zahir, The Mystery of the Haunted House, ‘‘The Mystery of the Sapphire Bracelet’’, ‘‘The Mystery of the Honeymoon’’, and ‘‘The Mystery of the Egyptian Vulture Country House’’.
d2) Other works
- Historias en la oscuridad
e) Miscellaneous
- Espérame, Nina, voy contigo
- Albatross (English edition of ‘‘Albatros’’, 2001)
- Popular science
Significant publications include:
- Human cultures and evolution (1979)
- La vida en otros mundos (1982)
- ‘‘El futuro de la evolución’’ (1985)
- ‘‘El tiempo y el hombre’’ (1985; English edition: ‘‘Time and Man’’, 2022)
- ‘‘1000 grandes científicos’’ dictionary entry (1996)
- ‘‘The fifth level of evolution’’ digital release (2014)
- ‘‘¿Es compatible Dios con la ciencia? Evolución y cosmología’’ (2013)
- ‘‘60 preguntas sobre ciencia y fe’’ co-edited volume (2014, updated edition 2020)
- ‘‘World Population: Past, Present, & Future’’ coauthored with Julio A. Gonzalo and Félix F. Muñoz (2016)
- Recent works include ‘‘Evolución biológica y cultural’’, ‘‘Todo es número’’, and ‘‘Un universo en evolución’’.
- Popular computer science
Noteworthy titles:
- ‘‘Cómo hacer juegos de aventura’’ (1986)
- ‘‘Aprenda Matemáticas y Estadística con el lenguaje APL’’ (1987)
- Texts on computer science
Selected academic books:
- ‘‘Teoría de Lenguajes, Gramáticas y Autómatas’’
- ‘‘Programación Orientada a Objetos’’
- ‘‘Guía práctica de C y C++’’
- ‘‘Compiladores e intérpretes: teoría y práctica’’
- ‘‘Teoría de Autómatas y Lenguajes Formales’’
- Miscellaneous
Titles include:
- ‘‘Krishna frente a Cristo’’
- ‘‘Krishna versus Christ’’
External links
- Biography and comprehensive works list. Additional resource
- Blogs by Manuel Alfonseca: Science Dissemination, Science for the Public.
- Manuel Alfonseca entry on Spanish Wikipedia: Manuel Alfonseca Moreno
- Profile on Academia.edu
- LinkedIn page
- Goodreads profile
- Oxford Reference entry
- Author page at Anaya Publisher
- Amazon author profile and Book Depository listing
- Interview with Manuel Alfonseca