Benford wrote the Galactic Center Saga science fiction novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977).[2] The series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient electromechanical life.
In 1969 he wrote "The Scarred Man",[3][4] the first story about a computer virus (based on a real computer virus he had spread[5]),[6] published in 1970.
Benford has served as an editor of numerous alternate history anthologies, as well as collections of Hugo Award winners.
He has been nominated for four Hugo Awards (for two short stories and two novellas) and 13 Nebula Awards (in all categories). In addition to Timescape, he won the Nebula for the novelette "If the Stars Are Gods" (with Eklund).
Benford was a guest of honour at Aussiecon Three, the 1999 Worldcon. He remains[as of?] a regular contributor to science fiction fanzines, for example Apparatchik (defunct as of 1997).
Gregory Benford is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of California, Irvine. With more than 200 scientific publications, his research encompassed both theory and experiments in the fields of astrophysics and plasma physics. His research has been supported by NSF, NASA, AFOSR, DOE and other agencies. He is an ongoing[when?] advisor to NASA, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and the CIA.
Benford's work in physics at the University of California focused on theoretical and experimental plasma physics, including studies of extremely strong turbulence, particularly in astrophysical contexts, and studies of magnetic structures from the Galactic Center to large-scale galactic jets. Working in collaboration with, among others, science fiction writers Cramer, Forward, and Landis, Benford worked on a theoretical study of the physics of wormholes, which pointed out that wormholes, if formed in the early universe, could still exist in the present day if they were wrapped in a negative-masscosmic string.[13] Such wormholes could potentially be detected by gravitational lensing.
In 2004, Benford proposed that the harmful effects of global warming could be reduced by the construction of a rotating Fresnel lens 1,000 kilometres across, floating in space at the Lagrangian point L1. According to Benford, this lens would diffuse the light from the Sun and reduce the solar energy reaching the Earth by approximately 0.5% to 1%. He estimated that this would cost around US$10 billion. His plan has been commented on in a variety of forums.[14] A similar space sunshade was proposed in 1989 by J. T. Early,[15] and again in 1997 by Edward Teller, Lowell Wood, and Roderick Hyde.[16] In 2006, Benford pointed out one possible danger in this approach: if this lens were built and global warming were avoided, there would be less incentive to reduce greenhouse gases, and humans might continue to produce too much carbon dioxide until it caused some other environmental catastrophe, such as a chemical change in ocean water that could be disastrous to ocean life.[17]
Benford serves on the board of directors and the steering committee of the Mars Society.
He has advocated human cryopreservation, for example by signing an open letter to support research into cryonics,[18] being a member of Alcor,[19] and by being an advisor to a UK cryonics and cryopreservation advocacy group.[20]
Gregory Benford retired from the University of California in 2006 in order to found and develop Genescient Corporation. Genescient is a new generation biotechnology company that claims to combine evolutionary genomics with massive selective screening to analyze and exploit the genetics of model animal and human whole genomes.
^MacCoun, Robert J. (2001). "American distortion of Dutch drug statistics". Society. 38 (3): 23–26. doi:10.1007/BF02686215. S2CID144452566.; official archival copy requires site registration. The article is a followup to pieces the author already published in Science (1997) and the Annual Review of Psychology (1998)
