{{short description|American writer and aerospace engineer (born 1962)}} {{pp-pc1}} {{Infobox person |name=Steve Altes |image=Steve-altes-2014.JPG |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|11|13}} |birth_place = Syracuse, New York |alma_mater = Massachusetts Institute of Technology |education = S.B. (Aeronautics and Astronautics), S.M. (Aeronautics and Astronautics), S.M. (Technology and Policy) |known_for = humorous adventure essays, ''Geeks & Greeks'' |occupation = {{flatlist| * Writer * graphic novelist * engineer }} |awards = National Medal of Technology |spouse = Diana Jellinek |website = {{URL|http://stevealtes.wixsite.com/stevealtes}} }} '''Steve Altes''' (born November 13, 1962) is an American writer and former aerospace engineer. He writes humorous essays about his misadventures.<ref name='Lawrence'>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mEE0AAAAIBAJ&pg=4803%2C4786344 | location=Lawrence, KS | work=Lawrence Journal-World | title=Model/Actor/Scientist Adds Writer to Resume | date=1998-09-10}}</ref>
==Early life== Altes was born on November 13, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius in 1980.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/va.politics/AiRhGcZRKbA |location=Washington, DC | work=The Washington Times | title=Valedictorian Tradition Scrapped at High Schools | date=May 7, 1999}}</ref> In high school, Altes once ran a track meet in clown make-up.<ref name='Lawrence'/> In 2000, when Altes was inducted into the Fayetteville-Manlius Hall of Distinction as one of the high school's "notable alumni", he acknowledged the dichotomy in his career segue from engineering to entertainment, saying, "I owe a tremendous debt to those dedicated teachers for the serious half of my career. For the silly half, I’d like to thank all the class clowns."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.fmschools.org/community.cfm?subpage=16018 | location=Manlius, NY | work=FMSchools.org | title=Hall of Distinction Inductees | date=June 1, 2000}}</ref>
==Engineering== Altes holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): S.B., Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1984; S.M., Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1986; and S.M., Technology and Policy, 1986.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://tech.mit.edu/V118/N62/altes.62n.html | location=Washington, DC | work=The Tech (MIT) | title=MIT Graduate Inspires Crowd with Life Experience | date=December 1, 1998}}</ref>
In 1982, Altes was part of the MIT team that set a world land-speed record for a human-powered vehicle using a five-person, forty-foot-long "bicycle".<ref name = "Lawrence"/> His master's thesis, "The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications",<ref>{{cite news |url=http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/15033/15338304.pdf?sequence=1 |work=MIT.edu |title=The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications |date=May 1, 1986 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905034124/http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/15033/15338304.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=September 5, 2014 }}</ref> was reviewed by James Fallows in ''The New York Review of Books'' in 1986.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1986/dec/18/the-americans-in-space/ | location=New York City| work=The New York Review of Books | title=The Americans in Space | date=December 18, 1986}}</ref>
After college, Altes worked as a space policy analyst for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.<ref name='Lawrence'/> He left Congress for a position as program control manager for the Pegasus air-launched space booster at Orbital Sciences Corporation. In 1991, Altes was part of the Orbital Sciences team that was awarded the National Medal of Technology (the United States' highest award for technological achievement) by President George H. W. Bush for developing Pegasus.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://video.mit.edu/watch/technology-and-the-future-warrior-protecting-soldiers-in-the-21st-century-9901/ | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | publisher=M.I.T. | title=Technology and the Future Warrior: Protecting Soldiers in the 21st Century | date=September 13, 2004}}<br>- {{cite news| url=https://alum.mit.edu/news/QuickTake/Archive/200808/ | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | work=MIT.edu | title=Rocket Scientist Turns to Entertainment | date=September 1, 2008}}<br>- {{cite news| url=http://www.uspto.gov/about/nmti/recipients/1991.jsp | location=Washington, DC | work=USPTO.gov | title=The National Medal of Technology and Innovation 1991 Laureates | date=January 1, 1991}}</ref> He is a co-recipient of the 1990 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in Aerospace.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://airandspace.si.edu/events/trophy/ | location=Washington, DC | publisher= Smithsonian Institution | title= National Air and Space Museum Trophy Recipients | date=June 1, 1990}}</ref>
Due to his varied endeavors in the fields of engineering and entertainment, Altes is sometimes listed as one of MIT's more "notable alumni".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://tech.mit.edu/V119/N24/FamousAlumni.24f.html | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | work=The Tech | title=Notable Alumni: After Departing from MIT, Alumni Make their Mark on the World | date=May 5, 1999}}<br>- {{cite news| url=http://wiki.admissions.scripts.mit.edu/Notable_Alumni | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | work=MIT Admissions | title=Notable Alumni | date=September 4, 2014}}<br>- {{cite news| url=http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2011/02/16/12-mit-grads-that-changed-the-world-and-a-few-bonuses/ | location=Boston, MA | work=BostInno.com | title=12 MIT Grads that Changed the World | date=February 16, 2011}}<br>- {{cite news| url=http://topyaps.com/top-10-famous-alumni-of-mit | work=TopYaps| title=Top 10 famous alumni of MIT | date=September 8, 2014}}<br>- {{cite news| url=http://images.fastcompany.com/magazine/154/now/now-24-mits-150th-birthday-pop.jpg | work=FastCompany | title=MIT's 150th Birthday | date=April 11, 2011}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://collegecandy.com/2009/09/30/the-rival-rundown-caltech-vs-mit/ |title= The Rival Rundown: Caltech vs MIT |last1=Fordham |first1=Sara |website=College Candy |date= September 30, 2009 |access-date=August 6, 2016}}</ref>
==Entertainment== In the mid-1990s, Altes left engineering for a career in entertainment and writing.
===Essays=== Altes has written a series of first-person participatory adventure essays about experiences such as: * becoming an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/257434548/American-Atheist-Magazine-Summer-2004#scribd | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Atheists.org | title=Reverend Me | date=June 1, 2004}}</ref> * working as a hand model<ref name='piece'>{{cite news| url=https://stevealtes.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/you_want_a_piece_of_me.pdf | location=New York City | work=Tear Sheet | title=So, You Want a Piece of Me? | date=June 1, 2000}}</ref> * standing in for Brad Pitt on the movie ''The Devil's Own''<ref name='Brad'>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/review97/fdevilsown.htm | location=Washington, DC | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Standing In for Brad | date=March 26, 1997}}</ref> * being chosen to model for the Just for Men hair color box<ref name='guy'>{{cite news| url=https://stevealtes.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/guy-on-the-box.pdf | location=New York City | work=Tear Sheet | title=Guy on the Box | date=December 1, 2000}}</ref> * having his first book published<ref name='writer'>{{cite news| url=https://stevealtes.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/how_to_become_an_author_in_four_easy_steps.pdf | location=Boston | work=The Writer | title=How to Become an Author in Four Easy Steps | date=March 1, 1999}}</ref> * working as a "bank robber" at the FBI training academy<ref name='pov'>{{cite news| url=https://stevealtes.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/the_fugitive.pdf | location=New York City | work=P.O.V. | title=The Fugitive | date=August 1, 1998}}</ref> * answering phones in the Arkansas Governor's Mansion for President-elect Bill Clinton<ref>{{cite news| url=https://stevealtes.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/bill-clinton-hit-on-my-wife.pdf | location=Washington, DC | work=Capital Style | title=Bill Clinton Hit on My Wife | date=October 1, 1998}}<br>- {{cite news| url=https://stevealtes.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/the_basement_with_bill.pdf | location=New York City| work=New York Post | title=The Basement with Bill | date=September 24, 1998}}<br>- {{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=744nAQAAMAAJ&q=altes | title=Jove Laughs, They Say: Lewinsky as Text | date=January 1, 2000| isbn=9780761818052 | last1=Gillis | first1=John F. X. | publisher=University Press of America }}</ref> * and being hired and fired by the CIA in one day.<ref name='Spy'>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-feb-24-oe-altes24-story.html | location=Los Angeles | work=Los Angeles Times | title=My Short, Sorry Career as a Spy | date=February 24, 2003}}</ref>
These essays have appeared in magazines and newspapers like ''Salon'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www1.salon.com/media/1998/04/27media.html |location=Washington, DC |work=Salon |title=Brad and Me |date=April 27, 1998 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020092731/http://www1.salon.com/media/1998/04/27media.html |archive-date=October 20, 2007 }}</ref> ''The Washington Post'',<ref name='Brad'/> the ''Los Angeles Times'',<ref name='Spy'/> ''The Christian Science Monitor'',<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0303/p18s02-hfes.html | location=Boston, MA | work=The Christian Science Monitor | title=How I Became a CIA Spy for a Day | date=March 3, 2003}}</ref> ''Capital Style'',<ref name='Style'>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/1998/11/09/tidbits.html?page=all | location=Washington, DC | work=Washington Business Journal | title=Capital Style Overcomes Substance | date=November 9, 1998}}</ref> ''The Writer'',<ref name='writer'/> ''Urban Male Magazine'',<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.umm.ca/umm_administration/objects/metadata/951969001228840459.pdf | location=Canada| work=Urban Male Magazine | title=Reverend Me | date=Spring 2004}}</ref> ''Funny Times''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://funnytimes.com/issue-200711/ | location=Cleveland Heights, OH | work=Funny Times |title= Confessions About My Baby | date=November 1, 2007}}</ref> and ''P.O.V.''<ref name='pov'/>
===Books=== In 1997, Altes's ''The Little Book of Bad Business Advice'' was published by St. Martin's Press.
In 2001, a sequel, ''If You Jam the Copier, Bolt'' was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.<ref name='Herman'>{{cite news| url=http://www.jeffherman.com/books-represented/ | location=New York City | work=JeffHerman.com | title=Books Represented | date=August 19, 2015}}</ref>
In 2005, Altes was a contributor to Michael J. Rosen's anthology, ''May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor''. His piece satirized his career as a male model.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.amazon.com/May-Contain-Nuts-Loose-American/dp/B00093099A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 | title=May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor | date=August 12, 2015}}</ref>
In 2006, the humor editor Judy Brown selected twenty of Altes's jokes to appear in her anthology ''Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Judy|title=Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians|date=August 2007|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=978-0740760471|pages=7, 23, 37, 45, 68, 107, 108, 110, 137, 181, 189, 218, 220, 227, 233, 236, 239, 260, 265, 272|edition=1st}}</ref>
In 2014, Altes ran a Kickstarter<ref name='Kickstarter'>{{cite news| url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevealtes/geeks-and-greeks-an-epic-graphic-novel-about-mit-p/description | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Kickstarter.com | title=Geeks & Greeks – an epic graphic novel about MIT pranks | date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> campaign which raised $43,098 to finance the illustration of a graphic novel he had written about hacks at MIT, titled ''Geeks & Greeks''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://slice.mit.edu/2015/05/08/steve-altes-geeks-and-greeks-mit-graphic-novel/ | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | work=MIT Slice of Life blog | title=How Stunt Work on Die Hard Led to a Graphic Novel About MIT Hacks | date=May 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name ="TR">{{cite news| url=http://www.technologyreview.com/article/536531/steve-altes-84-sm-86-sm-86/ | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | work=TechnologyReview.com | title=Humor Writer to Publish Graphic Novel on Hacks | date=April 21, 2015}}</ref> The graphic novel was illustrated by Andy Fish and was published in 2016 to generally positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://thetech.com/2016/04/08/geeksandgreeks-v136-n11 |title= Book Review: A Tale of Hazing and Hacking at MIT |last1=Moore |first1=Karleigh |website= The Tech (MIT) |date= April 8, 2016 |access-date=August 9, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url= http://fanboynation.com/geeks-greeks-review/ |title= Geeks & Greek Review |last1=Bench |first1=Anthony |website=FanboyNation |date= August 8, 2016 |access-date=August 9, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url= http://static.signalscv.com/flipbook/SCVBJ/2016/08/index.html#22/z |title= From Aerospace Engineer to Life as a Spy |last1=Adkins |first1=Jana |website=Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal|date=August 1, 2016 |access-date=August 9, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/books/article95140867.html |title= From John Lewis to Jughead, a Roundup of Graphic Novels |last1=Pachter |first1=Richard |website=Miami Herald |date=August 11, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2016/09/books/graphic-novels/altesfishs-beaumont-clowes-cornellparker-girard-jackson-schulz-graphic-novels-reviews-september-15-2016/ |title= Altes/Fishs, Beaumont, Clowes, Cornell/Parker, Girard, Jackson, Schulz - Graphic Novels Reviews |last1=Cornog |first1=Martha |website=Library Journal |date=September 15, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923200434/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2016/09/books/graphic-novels/altesfishs-beaumont-clowes-cornellparker-girard-jackson-schulz-graphic-novels-reviews-september-15-2016/ |archive-date=2016-09-23}}<br>- {{cite web | url=http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/04/cny_books_audrey_munson_steve_altes_library_week_poetry.html |title= Battle of the Geeks |last1=Frank |first1=Casey Rose |website=The Post-Standard |date=April 8, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://www.forevergeek.com/2016/09/nerd-gold-geeks-greeks-graphic-novel-review/ |title= Animal House for the Tech Gen: Geeks & Greeks Graphic Novel Review |last1=Carreiro |first1=Remy |website=Forever Geek |date=September 5, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://www.comiccrusaders.com/review-geeks-and-greeks/ |title= Review: Geeks & Greeks |last1=Hughes |first1=Johnny |website=Comic Crusaders |date=September 8, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://www.forcesofgeek.com/2016/08/talking-geeks-greeks-with-steve-altes-andy-fish.html |title= Talking Geeks & Greeks with Steve Altes and Andy Fish |last1=Ferno |first1=Clay |website=Force Of Geek |date=August 10, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://reviewfix.com/2016/08/review-fix-exclusive-steve-altes-talks-geeks-greeks/ |title= Steve Altes Talks Geeks & Greeks |last1=Hickey |first1=Patrick |website=Review Fix |date=August 25, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016}}</ref>
===Film appearances=== Altes has appeared in a number of films and television shows after being accidentally "discovered" and cast as a German terrorist in ''Die Hard With a Vengeance'' in 1995.<ref name = "Lawrence"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0022775/ | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=IMDB| title=IMDB - Steve Altes | date=September 4, 2014}}<br>- {{cite web | url=https://stevealtes.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/yippie-ki-yay/ | title=Yippie-Ki-Yay, Mr. Falcon | date=2 February 2015 | access-date=August 12, 2015}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Film !! Role |- | 1995 || ''Die Hard With a Vengeance'' || German terrorist |- | 1997 || ''Shadow Conspiracy''<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFm8Dr1DPvc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309135138/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFm8Dr1DPvc |archive-date=2016-03-09 |url-status=dead| location=Hollywood, CA | work=YouTube | title=Shooting Charlie Sheen | access-date=May 29, 2015}}</ref> || Secret Service agent |- | 1999 || ''Girl, Interrupted'' || Medic |- | 2000 || ''Hollow Man'' || Dad |}
===Print modeling=== Altes has worked as a commercial print model and hand model.<ref name='guy'/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://stevealtes.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/goodbye-modeling/ | title=Goodbye, Modeling | access-date=August 12, 2015}}<br>- {{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_OTL6iT0YkC&q=%22steve+altes%22&pg=PA123 | title=Living Blue in the Red States | date=August 12, 2015| isbn=978-0803209855 | last1=Starkey | first1=David | publisher=U of Nebraska Press }}</ref>
===Other=== Altes has also been: * a screenwriter<ref name ="TR"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://inktip.com/main_total_deals_closed.php?sel=6 |location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Ink Tip | title=Screenplay deals closed 2006 | date=June 1, 2006}}</ref> * a commentator for NPR's ''All Things Considered''<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1275643 | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=National Public Radio | title=Bad Move | date=May 26, 2003}}</ref> * a member of ''Us Weekly'''s Fashion Police
==Awards== * 1991 - National Medal of Technology (co-recipient) * 1990 - National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in Aerospace (co-recipient)
==Personal== Altes lives in the Los Angeles area and is married to Diana Jellinek, an acting coach.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420600/ | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=IMDB | title =Diana Jellinek | date=September 4, 2014}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://stevealtes.wixsite.com/stevealtes/ Steve Altes official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Altes, Steve}} Category:American graphic novelists Category:American humorists Category:Male models from New York (state) Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni Category:Fayetteville-Manlius High School alumni Category:Writers from Syracuse, New York Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:People from Manlius, New York Category:Novelists from New York (state)