Research

In successive years, the preeminent science fiction writer Jules Verne wrote on a journey to the center of the earth and then about a trip from the earth to the moon.

James Andrews, associate professor of history, is taking a similar journey. With the publication next year of his book, Red Cosmos, Andrews has written a cultural biography of the "grandfather of Russian rocketry," K.E. Tsiolkovskii. Tsiolkovskii first conceived multi-stage rockets that were later adapted for the U.S. and Soviet space programs.

For a follow-up Andews has decided to spurn the heights of man's space achievements for a look at the Russian underground - the building of the Moscow Metro. Andrews says don't be too quick to assume that the two Soviet programs have little in common. In fact, he says for a professor interested in history and technology, this is a natural follow-up piece.

"I like to pick projects that have multidisciplinary aspects to them," he says. "In my case, I'm interested in the political and cultural aspects as well as the technological and scientific background of a project.

"These three things intersect quite often as they do in both the Soviet space program and the building of the Moscow Metro."
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