Gbur got his B.A. in physics from theUniversity of Chicago (1993), his M.A. in physics from theUniversity of Rochester (1996), and his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester (2001) underEmil Wolf for the thesis "Nonradiating sources and the inverse source problem".[2][3]
In September 2020,The Optical Society elected Gbur aFellow, in recognition of "contributions to coherence theory, singular optics, and the intersection of these disciplines".[8]
Gbur maintains an active interest in the history of science. He founded and co-moderated a blog carnival,The Giant's Shoulders, which focused on the history of science and ran from 2008 to 2014.[9][10] He maintains a popular scienceweblog,Skulls in the Stars, that seeks to elucidate science and its history for the public.[11] Two of his blog posts have been included in "best of online science" books.[12][13] He has contributed toScience Blogging: The Essential Guide.[14]
Gbur has written a number of scholarly introductions to classic horror fiction, includingJohn Blackburn'sBroken Boy,[16]Nothing but the Night,The Flame and the Wind,Bury Him Darkly,The Face of the Lion,The Cyclops Goblet, andOur Lady of Pain.[17] He also wrote an introduction toArchie Roy'sDevil in the Darkness.[18]
^Alea Iacta Est! The Giant's Shoulders: A monthly blog carnival about classic science papers
^Skulls in the Stars The intersection of physics, optics, history and pulp fiction
^G. Gbur, “Invisibility physics: Kerker’s ‘invisible bodies'”, in B. Zivkovic, J. Goldman (Eds.), The Open Laboratory 2010 (Coturnix, Chapel Hill, 2010), p. 179. (original online post)
^G. Gbur, “Mpemba’s baffling discovery,” in Best Science Writing Online 2012, J. Ouellette and B. Zivkovic, eds. (Scientific American, New York, 2012), 108.
