Carol Hand has a PhD in zoology with a specialization in marine ecology from the University of Georgia. Before becoming a science writer, she taught college biology, wrote for standardized testing companies, and developed multimedia science curricula. Currently, she writes educational books for young people, mostly on topics in science, technology, and the environment. The books she considers most important are those describing nature and the environment, especially those documenting human impacts on ecosystems—how we are changing our life support systems, and how we can (and must) learn to live in harmony with our environment.