Seeing and Hearing the Violent Universe with Gravitational Waves and Light

Friday, October 17, 2014: 10:15 AM-11:45 AM
LACC 405 (Los Angeles Convention Center)
Chair:
Joshua Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor, California State University, Fullerton

Description: Nearly a century ago, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves. Today, using extremely sensitive detectors, we are poised to directly measure these waves from violent systems such as colliding black holes. We will describe how light and gravity let us see and hear the extreme astrophysics of our universe.



10:15 AM
Introductory Remarks
10:20 AM
Neutron stars and gravitational waves
Jocelyn Read, PhD , Assistant Professor of Physics , California State University Fullerton
10:40 AM
Advanced LIGO and the era of gravitational-wave astronomy
Nicolas Smith-Lefebvre, PhD , Postdoctoral Scholar , California Institute of Technology