Scientists to provide update on search for gravitational waves

MILWAUKEE _ One hundred years after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, the National Science Foundation will gather scientists from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration to update the scientific community on efforts to detect them.

A news conference will be held Thursday at 9:30 a.m. CT at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for a status report on the effort to detect gravitational waves – or ripples in the fabric of spacetime – using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). We will begin with a live-stream from the National Press Club in Washington, followed by a Q&A session with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee scientists who have played a lead role in the multi-national search for gravitational waves. The local news conference will be held in room 1150 at the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex, on the corner of Maryland and Kenwood Avenues.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first publication of Albert Einstein’s prediction of the existence of gravitational waves. With interest in this topic piqued by the centennial, the group will discuss their ongoing efforts to observe gravitational waves.

LIGO, a system of two identical detectors carefully constructed to detect incredibly tiny vibrations from passing gravitational waves, was conceived and built by MIT and Caltech researchers, funded by the National Science Foundation, with significant contributions from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and other U.S. and international partners. The twin detectors are located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington.

For additional background about the project, you may be interested in these websites:

LIGO at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee:  http://www.cgca.uwm.edu/ligo
LIGO Scientific Collaboration: http://www.ligo.org/

WHEN/WHERE:
Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. CST
Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Center, Room 1150
3135 North Maryland Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211

About UWM
As Wisconsin’s only public urban research university, UW-Milwaukee has established an international reputation for excellence in research, community engagement, teaching and entrepreneurism. On a budget of $667 million, UW-Milwaukee educates more than 27,000 students and is an engine for innovation in southeastern Wisconsin. Its economic impact is more than $1.5 billion per year in Wisconsin alone. The Princeton Review named UWM a “2016 Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews.