Joe Kaplinsky is a science writer and researcher. He has carried out experimental research in low temperature physics and more recently in biophysics. He has worked as a patent analyst on a wide range of technologies including computing, nuclear waste disposal, electricity generation and chemical engineering. He has written and contributed to debates on many topics dealing with science, risk and democracy. He recently contributed a chapter on Chernobyl and nuclear power to the collection Science vs. Superstition: The case for a new Scientific Enlightenment, edited by James Panton and Oliver Hartwich. He is the co-author, with James Woudhuysen, of Energise! A future for energy innovation.