Kristeen Ballard

Doctor Kristeen Ballard is the Chief Scientist for Habitat Mars. She and Prescott Nagle were in the same doctoral program at Stanford University, vying for top honours. Kristeen, however, won the coveted Hawking Award for her thesis on xenogeology. Some say Nagle has never forgiven her for this.

Ballard is a tough cookie, a courageous no-nonsense type who wishes all the politicians and technocrats would get out of the way and let her do her job. She designed and supervised the construction of Habitat Mars, and is currently Chief Scientist at the base. Her father, Jastrow Ballard, is a brilliant mathematician who pioneered work in hyper-dimensinal physics and developed the patent for the graviton field generator – the basis of the entire aerotransportation industry.

Background

 * The character is named for the science-fiction author Wikipedia-logo.png J. G. Ballard.