Author of over one hundred published works, Michael Michaud was a U.S. Foreign Service officer for 32 years before turning full time to writing.  During his diplomatic career, he served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Director of the State Department’s Office of Advanced Technology, Minister-Counselor for Environment, Science, and Technology at the American Embassy in Tokyo, and as Counselor for Environment, Science, and Technology at the American Embassy in Paris.  His earlier overseas assignments were Consul-General in Belfast, Information Officer in Bombay, Political and later Economic Officer in Tehran, and Vice-Consul in Dacca.  In Washington, he served as country officer for Iran, Australia and Papua New Guinea, and the United Kingdom.  He also worked in the Bureaus of Political-Military Affairs, Intelligence and Research, and Personnel.

            Michaud led the successful negotiation of a new science and technology agreement between the United States and Poland, and of a new transportation science and technology agreement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.  He played a major role in the negotiation of a new space cooperation agreement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.  He was one of the initiators of U.S.-Soviet anti-satellite arms control negotiations and served on the U.S. delegation.  He represented the Department of State many times in interagency space policy forums and testified before Congressional committees four times on space-related issues.

            Michaud is a member of many professional organizations, including the International Academy of Astronautics, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He has spoken before meetings of all these organizations, as well as at the annual meetings of the International Astronautical Federation.

            Michaud is the author of two research-driven books.  His most recent, published in 2007 by the scientific publisher Springer, is a detailed study of the centuries-long debates about the probability and consequences of coming into contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.  He previously published a study of the American pro-space movement.  His publication record also includes more than eighty articles and papers and a novel.