Charles Sheffield, 67, a physicist and science fiction author, died of brain cancer Nov. 2 at a hospice near his home in Silver Spring.

A native of Britain, he had a doctorate in physics from American University. He was a consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and later chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corp., a Washington-based company specializing in natural-resource management.

He was author or co-author of more than two dozen novels, a winner of the genre's Nebula and Hugo awards, and since 1997 the husband of science fiction writer Nancy Kress.