Durk Pearson

While a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was a member of the MIT Science Fiction Society and one of the writers for the early underground comic God Comics. Pearson graduated from MIT with a triple major in physics, biology, and psychology.^[2]

Pearson has patents in the area of oil shale and tar sands recovery,^[3] lasers, holography and supplement formulations.^[4] Pearson assisted with equipment design and experiments for NASA's Space Shuttle.^[5] Pearson is also an International Society for Testing and Failure Analysis honoree.^[6]

Pearson and his wife, Sandy Shaw, are the authors of Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach^[7] (ISBN 0-446-51229-X, Warner Books, 1982), The Life Extension Companion^[8] (Warner Books), The Life Extension Weight Loss Program, and Freedom of Informed Choice: FDA v. Nutrient Supplements, (Common Sense Press, 1993). The couple have written numerous articles on life extension, cognitive enhancement, anti-aging, weight loss, and other aspects of nutrition.^{[citation needed]}

Pearson and Shaw wrote, designed the stunts, and acted as technical advisors for a 1978 episode of The Wonderful World of Disney, called "Black Holes, Monsters That Eat Space and Time."^[9] They acted as scientific and technical advisors and received screen credits for the Clint Eastwood film Firefox.^[10] They received screen credits for acting as technical advisors for Douglas Trumbull's film Brainstorm, starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood.^[11] In 1988, Steve Sharon, Pearson, and Shaw wrote the thriller The Dead Pool, which was later sold to Warner Bros. and made into a film, once again starring Clint Eastwood, in his fifth and final appearance as “Dirty” Harry Callahan.^[12] Pearson and Shaw make a cameo appearance in the funeral scene. They are standing directly behind the bereaved.