Mainstage Theatre, Kleist Center for Art & Drama

Burrell Memorial Observatory

Event is free and open to the public.

Entrance tickets required.











Listening to the Universe with Lasers: The Discovery of Gravity Waves

Dr. Madeline Wade of Kenyon College will present a lecture on gravity waves and her work with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

Gravitational waves are disturbances in the curvature of space-time, generated by accelerated masses that propagate as waves at the speed of light. They were predicted in 1916 by Albert Einstein on the basis of his general theory of relativity.

LIGO is the most sensitive "sensor" ever built. On February 11, 2016, the LIGO and Virgo Scientific Collaboration announced they had made the first direct observation of gravitational waves. This is the most significant discovery of the century. It was so important that in 2017, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barish for their role in the direct detection of gravitational waves.

The lecture will be held in the Mainstage Theatre of the Kleist Center for Art & Drama. After the lecture, the Burrell Observatory will be open for viewing, weather permitting.

For questions, contact Gary Kader, observatory director, at gkader@bw.edu or the Department of Physics and Astronomy at 440-826-2312.