Dean Ing

Dean Charles Ing is a highly accomplished American author, best known for his techno-thriller and science fiction novels. Born on June 17th, 1931, in Austin, Texas, Ing pursued higher education and earned his bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University in 1965. He then went on to graduate from San Jose State University in 1970 with a master’s degree and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 1974.

Prior to his career as a writer, Ing served in the U.S. Air Force and worked as an aerospace engineer and university professor. His work in communication theory at the University of Oregon inspired him to start writing professionally in 1977. Ing and his wife have made their home in Oregon.

Ing’s writing is characterized by detailed, practical descriptions of techniques and methods, which would be useful in survival situations. He often includes instructions for the manufacture of tools and other implements, the recovery of stuck vehicles, and avoidance of disease and injury. In addition to his fiction writing, Ing contributed nonfiction articles to the survivalist newsletter P.S. Letter, edited by Mel Tappan.

Ing’s fiction often features characters involved in scientific or engineering solutions and entrepreneurial innovation, reflecting his own experiences as a tinkerer, designer, and builder. He has served as an Air Force crew chief and a senior engineer for United Technologies and Lockheed. Ing’s work emphasizes the importance of self-reliant independence and suspicion of authority, in line with the traditions of Oregon.

As an author, Ing believes in the value of clear didactic elements in his work, aiming to promote the ideal of the independent yeoman farmer to each generation. He mistrusts a technological society in which most members are incompetent to maintain the hardware or software. Throughout his career, Ing has consistently incorporated these values into his writing, making him a respected and influential figure in the science fiction and techno-thriller genres.