Graham J. Darling

Science & Fiction

Dr. Graham J. “GrayJay” Darling is a researcher, educator and writer based in Metro Vancouver, Canada. From diamond-hard Science Fiction to mythopoeic Fantasy and unearthly Horror, his fiction is crafted to nourish, exalt, disturb, endure; his articles and demonstrations on Alchemy and other medieval technology make the Past come alive.

A Life of Science

He grew up in and around Ottawa, in eastern Canada, at the confluence of several rivers, biomes and cultures. His father was an anthropologist in the Canadian Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and his mother the assistant to Canada’s leading folklorist at the National Museum of Man. Thus he soaked up the tales of many peoples, along with outdoor lore through the Museum of Nature’s Macoun Field Club, and eventually degrees in Biology and Biochemistry, and a PhD in Synthetic Polymer Chemistry, from the University of Ottawa. He went on to work at IBM in Silicon Valley on polymers for microelectronics, then as a chemistry professor at McGill University in Montreal, before moving back into the private sector and out west, where he is now an industrial research chemist. As a chemical professional, he has co-authored a dozen patents and over 30 papers in refereed scientific publications, including Macromolecules, Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Chemical Physics Letters, Canadian Journal of Microbiology, Mineral Engineering, Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, Polymer Materials Encyclopedia, Biosensors & Bioelectronics, and The Chitin Handbook. He is also a fiction writer and medieval reenactor.