Jim Rupert

Jim Rupert is a retired researcher with a background in genetics and human evolution. He holds a BSc (University of Guelph), a MSc (University of Toronto) and a PhD (University of British Columbia). His research focused on the evolution of human adaptation to high-altitude environments in South America and Asia, and on the role of genetics in human performance, both natural and ‘artificially enhanced’.

He has taught courses on human biology, genetics and evolution both in universities and in community out-reach programs. His lifelong interest in the natural sciences is reflected in a fascination for the interpretation and presentation of science in the popular media, especially in science fiction films and television programs. He has great fondness for (and tolerance of) bad movies, especially the many legendarily inept, yet eminently watchable, B movies of the 1950s, and for the Japanese diakaiju eiga, or giant monster movies—particularly the long-running Godzilla franchise. He is currently researching material for a book on science fiction films from the silent era.