UWM Physics Associate Professor David Kaplan’s research is part of a 12 university collaboration called GROWTH (Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen). The network recently received a $4.5 million, five year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Partnership in International Research and Education Program. GROWTH will watch for several classes of events but Kaplan’s research will focus on cataclysmic events that lead to the creation of heavy elements such as gold, platinum and uranium which may occur during the merger of neutron stars. Much of Kaplan’s work with GROWTH will be combining optical observations with gravitational wave detection. More information can be found at November 2015 In-Focus Newsletter.