Welcome to the faculty page of Professor Greg Gbur! Here you can find information about my research, my publications, and my blogging.
Now available: Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics!
“The question of how falling cats land on their feet has long intrigued humans. In this playful and eye-opening history, physicist and cat parent Gregory Gbur explores how attempts to understand the cat-righting reflex have provided crucial insights into puzzles in mathematics, geophysics, neuroscience, and human space exploration.
The result is an engaging tumble through physics, physiology, photography, and robotics to uncover, through scientific debate, the secret of the acrobatic performance known as cat-turning, the cat flip, and the cat twist. Readers learn the solution but also discover that the finer details still inspire heated arguments. As with other cat behavior, the more we investigate, the more surprises we discover.”
Textbook: Mathematical Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering:
Textbook: Singular Optics:
I also run two different weblogs about science and other topics:
Skulls in the Stars: The intersection of physics, optics, history and pulp fiction
Science Chamber of Horrors: Presenting the freakiest and most terrifying aspects of science, scientists, and nature (Currently on hiatus)