Ian East began his career as an Engineering Physicist in the defence industry before returning to university to gain a Ph.D. in physics from Imperial College, London, in 1983. He then continued as a University Lecturer in physics, and later computing, in diverse institutions over the next twenty-five years, publishing two textbooks and around thirty papers. He has also served as a consultant and contractor to commercial and military institutions.
He now spends his time writing, publishing, home educating, and implementing his own programming language, Honeysuckle.