Frank Dirceu Braun (

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

) is a Brazilian and American journalist, author and entrepreneur. He is a writer and producer, with over 25 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. Braun has worked as an Associate Producer for 60 Minutes, and as an Investigative Producer for the CBS affiliated stations. He has covered the space programs of Brazil, the United States, and China for over a decade. Braun has also written for United Press International, CBS. News, Space News, and Business Week magazine. Braun is currently working on a memoir, written as a novel, “In the New World”. And he is also producing a theatrical play based on the life of Polio Vaccine Pioneer, Dr. Jonas Salk, including sections from “In the New World”.

Early life

Born in Brazil, and raised in the U.S., Braun is a graduate of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

with a degree in English literature. After graduation, he returned to Brazil to help launch ''The Latin America Daily Post'', an English-language daily newspaper patterned after Europe's ''International Herald Tribune''. He also worked for McKinsey & Company Inc, an international management consulting firm.

Mid-life

The Apollo Mission Anniversary events

In 1994, Braun was the executive producer for the 25th Anniversary of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

, mankind's first landing on the Moon. Vice-President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

was the keynote speaker; Braun also produced the 25th and 30th Anniversary Galas of the

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

mission. In December 2002, Braun and

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

's Earthship.TV co-produced the 30th Anniversary of

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

, America's last mission to the Moon.

Fusion technology research

Braun serves a member of the business advisory board of a fusion technology company. He is also the co-founder of Tri-Alpha Energy Inc., a Research and Development company focused on developing fusion energy for the generation of electricity.

Collaboration with James Cameron and astronauts from the Apollo Missions

On November 15, 2001, Braun's production company collaborated with James Cameron's Earthship.TV to produce The Arthur C. Clarke 2001 Gala. The Clarke Gala honored Science Fiction Writer Arthur C. Clarke, and was attended by over 400 guests in Los Angeles. Keynote speakers included Film Director

, Actors

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

and

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...

, and Astronauts

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

, James Lovell, and

Robert Crippen Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937) is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttle ...

. In December 2002, Braun and

's Earthship.TV co-produced the 30th Anniversary of

, America's last mission to the moon.

Buzz Aldrin's official visit to Brazilian Launch Center Alcantara

In 2002, Braun coordinated the meeting for

and previous governor

Roseana Sarney Roseana Sarney Murad (born 1 June 1953) is a Brazilian politician and sociologist, who previously served as the Governor of Maranhão from 1995 to 2002 and from 2009 to 2014. Sarney served as a Senator from 2003 to 2009 and a member of the Cham ...

, followed by an official visit to the Brazilian rocket launch center of Alcantara.

The Third Global Summit on Peace through Tourism in Pattaya, Thailand, 2005

Braun was one of the speakers on the session of "Role of Media in a 21st Century"

Nominations and awards

In 1992, Braun was nominated for an Emmy and captured all of the significant awards presented by the San Diego Press Club for Best Investigative journalism for television. Those awards were presented for "Bad Doctors, Blind Trust", an investigative series Braun wrote and produced, which led to reform of the California Medical Board.

Works cited by others

* Article ''Alcantara – Ready and Waiting'' was cited in Steven Lambakis's book, ''On the Edge of Earth: The Future of American Space Power''. * Article ''Brazilian Congress Criticizes Bilateral Agreement with US'' was cited in Victor Zaborsky's report, ''The Brazilian Export Control System''. * Article ''Romancing the Skies'' was cited in LT Col Robert D. Newberry's (USAF) journal ''Latin American Countries with Space Programs, Colleagues or Competitors?''.

Publications

* ''A Strange Confluence of Flights'' * ''Brazil Exercises the Option to Say No'' * ''Brazil Gears Up For Commercial Spaceport'' * ''Brazil's Space Race on Throttle Up'' * ''Brazil in Space Pushing To Be A Player'' * ''Brazil: The Survival of the Poorest'' * ''The Martian Metro'' * ''Zheng He Revisited: Space Exploration and Sino-Brazilian Relations''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Frank American male journalists Brazilian male journalists Writers from São Paulo Journalists from São Paulo University of California, Los Angeles alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people