Michael Halvorson is the author or co-author of more than 35 books situated at the intersection between science and the humanities, including books about Visual Basic and Windows programming, Microsoft Office, and European History (especially the Renaissance and Reformation movements). He has been the recipient of numerous non-fiction writing awards, including the Computer Press Best How-to Book Award (Software category) and the Society for Technical Communication Excellence Award (Writing category). Halvorson earned a B.A. in Computer Science from Pacific Lutheran University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in History from the University of Washington. He was employed at Microsoft Corporation from 1985 to 1993, and has been an advocate for Visual Basic programming since the product's original debut at Windows World in 1991. Halvorson is currently an associate professor at Pacific Lutheran University.