Landis holds a Ph.D. in solid-state physics from Brown University. He works for the NASA John Glenn Research Center, where he generates advanced concepts for interstellar propulsion. He has published more than 240 scientific papers in the fields of astronautics and photovoltaics. He was a member of the Rover team on the Mars Pathfinder mission, and has been selected to be a member of the science team on the Mars 2003 Exploration Rovers mission.
In the field of science fiction, Landis has published over 60 works of short fiction. His work is notable for its mix of high science and technology with honest and deep human emotion. He won the 1989 Nebula Award for best short story for "Ripples in the Dirac Sea" (Asimov's Science Fiction, October 1988), and the 1992 Hugo Award for "A Walk in the Sun" (Asimov's Science Fiction, October 1991). His first novel, Mars Crossing, was published by Tor Books in 2000.
He attended the Clarion Workshop in 1985, with such other future SF luminaries as Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Martha Soukup, Bill Shunn, Resa Nelson, and Robert J. Howe.