MIKE CONLEY, a lifelong science nerd, became interested in nuclear power in 2010, and quickly saw that the field was in dire need of writers who could explain the technology to the average reader. So he joined the Thorium Energy Alliance, met dozens of scientists and engineers, and made them an offer: ?You explain it to me and I'll explain it to the world.? The son of a career naval officer, Mike Conley has lived in Yokohama, Oslo, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, and California, and has backpacked through Thailand and Cambodia. Born in Chicago, he's been a resident of Southern California since 1967 and has lived in the Echo Park Hills of Los Angeles since 1994, working on screenplays for Hollywood.