# Plant Engineering

*The Urth list — 3 messages, 2 voices, 24 Aug 2000*

<https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/2374>

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### Greene, Carlton
*24 Aug 2000, 09:02*

Can anyone provide some background on the journal Gene Wolfe edits
(edited?), "Plant Engineering" ?  In particular, is it "plant engineering"
as in horticulture, or as in industrial facilities?

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### Kevin J. Maroney
*24 Aug 2000, 11:26 · follows Greene, Carlton*

> At 09:02 AM 8/24/00 -0400, Carlton Greene wrote:
> Can anyone provide some background on the journal Gene Wolfe edits
> (edited?), "Plant Engineering" ?  In particular, is it "plant engineering"
> as in horticulture, or as in industrial facilities?

Industrial facilities. Before he retired to become a full-time writer in
the 1980s, Wolfe was a "food engineer" for Proctor and Gamble and then a
staff writer for PE. One of Wolfe's PE articles--a vocabulary for
robotics--is reprinted in his Boskone book, _Plan[e]t Engineering_; his
background shows through in things like the lecture about tallus design in
_Exodus from the Long Sun_. 

_Plant Engineering Magazine_'s home page is at 
<http://www.manufacturing.net/magazine/planteng/>. 

```
Wombat, a.k.a. Kevin Maroney kmaroney at ungames.com
Kitchen Staff Supervisor, New York Review of Science Fiction
http://www.nyrsf.com
```

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### Greene, Carlton
*24 Aug 2000, 11:59 · follows Kevin J. Maroney*

Thanks!  I assumed that was the case from his poetic descriptions of
engineering concepts, but given Dorcas and her flowers, and a hundred other
examples, he seems to know his plant matter as well.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin J. Maroney [mailto:kmaroney at ungames.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2000 11:27 AM
To: urth at lists.best.com
Subject: Re: (urth) Plant Engineering

> At 09:02 AM 8/24/00 -0400, Carlton Greene wrote:
> Can anyone provide some background on the journal Gene Wolfe edits
> (edited?), "Plant Engineering" ?  In particular, is it "plant engineering"
> as in horticulture, or as in industrial facilities?

Industrial facilities. Before he retired to become a full-time writer in
the 1980s, Wolfe was a "food engineer" for Proctor and Gamble and then a
staff writer for PE. One of Wolfe's PE articles--a vocabulary for
robotics--is reprinted in his Boskone book, _Plan[e]t Engineering_; his
background shows through in things like the lecture about tallus design in
_Exodus from the Long Sun_. 

_Plant Engineering Magazine_'s home page is at 
<http://www.manufacturing.net/magazine/planteng/>. 

```
Wombat, a.k.a. Kevin Maroney kmaroney at ungames.com
Kitchen Staff Supervisor, New York Review of Science Fiction
http://www.nyrsf.com

works
```

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