Whispers Across the Mountains: Probing the Cosmos in Gravitational Waves
Dr. Shane Larson
Clarkson University
Coulter School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Virtually everything we know about the Universe has been discovered from using light in all its myriad forms from radio waves, to visible light, to x-rays and beyond. At the dawn of the 21st century, advanced technology is providing access to the Cosmos through detection of ripples in the fabric of spacetime itself. These ripples in spacetime, called gravitational waves, carry information not in the form of light or particles, but in the form of gravity itself. Over the past decade years, the first gravitational wave signals from the Cosmos have been detected here on Earth, revealing a dynamic and energetic Universe that has previously only been speculated about. Gravitational wave observations have revealed black holes dancing a death spiral billions of lightyears from Earth, and neutron stars ripping themselves apart in a titanic burst of light and gravitational energy. This talk on July 9th (at the Sisters Fire Hall) will explore what gravitational waves are and how we measure them, and what we are learning from their detection. We'll talk about the twin LIGO facilities (one of which is located here in the PNW), searching for gravitational waves using pulsars, and upcoming LISA Observatory in space. Gravity has a story to tell, and in this talk, we'll explore some of discoveries are making by listening.
Shane Larson is a professor of Physics at Clarkson University and the Director of Integrated Engineering and Applied Science Projects in the Coulter School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.He works in the field of gravitational wave astrophysics, specializing in studies of compact stars, binaries, and the galaxy with both the ground-based LIGO project, and the forthcoming space-based observatory LISA. He is currently a member of the board of the international LISA Consortium, and is the co-chair of the LISA Astrophysics Working Group. He grew up in Eastern Oregon. He received his BS in physics from Oregon State, and his MS and PhD from Montana State. His postdoctoral work was at JPL, Caltech, and at the Physics Frontier Center at Penn State. He is an award winning teacher, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He contributes regularly to a public science blog at writescience.wordpress.com, and posts at Bluesky with the handle @sciencejedi .
This event is part of the Frontiers in Science lecture series sponsored by the Sisters Science Club. Doors open at 6:30, lecture begins at 7. Admission is $5 at the door; teachers and students are admitted free. The Sisters Fire Hall is located at 301 S. Elm St. in Sisters.