John Womersley Appointed Director of ESS Waves by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), Which Was Announced in February This Year, The
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CERN Courier July/August 2016 CERN Courier July/August 2016 Faces & Places Faces & Places Prizes galore for LIGO discovery A PPOINTMENTS Left to right: Gruber Foundation, Caltech, Bryce Vickmark Following the discovery of gravitational John Womersley appointed director of ESS waves by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), which was announced in February this year, the The European Spallation Source (ESS) under ESS John Womersley at the Foundation Stone breakthrough has been recognized by three construction in Lund, Sweden, has named Ceremony in 2014, which marked the major awards. John Womersley as its next director general. beginning of the construction of the ESS. On 2 May, the selection committee of Womersley, who is chief executive of the UK’s the new $3 million Special Breakthrough Science and Technology Facilities Council Scientists, staff, partner institutions and Prize in Fundamental Physics announced (STFC), will take over from current ESS countries across Europe have come together that LIGO founders Ronald Drever and director general Jim Yeck on 1 November. to build what will be the world's leading Kip Thorne of Caltech and Rainer Weiss More than 40 institutions from 15 neutron source for research on materials of MIT would share one third of the award, countries are participating in the €1.84bn and life sciences,” says Womersley. “The with the remaining amount being shared ESS, which will be the world’s most impressive progress at ESS can be seen in the equally between LIGO’s 1005 authors and powerful source of neutrons when it enters construction site in Lund and I am determined seven members of LIGO’s sister experiment full operation in 2025. Womersley, a to keep up the momentum.” VIRGO. The laureates will be recognized LIGO founders Ronald Drever, Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss. particle physicist who worked at Fermilab Yeck, who was previously director of the at the 2016 Breakthrough Prize ceremony LIGO/A Simonnet and later became a scientifi c adviser to the IceCube neutrino telescope project, joined in autumn, where the annual Breakthrough US Department of Energy, was directly since 2011 and is also the current chair of ESS as CEO and director general at the Prize in Fundamental Physics (which is involved in the UK’s decision to join the the European Strategy Forum on Research beginning of 2013 and successfully led ESS distinct from the special prize) will also be ESS project in 2014. He has led STFC, Infrastructures. into construction. The ESS ERIC (European presented. which manages the UK’s contribution to “I’m excited to join ESS. It’s one of Europe’s Research Infrastructure Consortium) was Just two days later, on 4 May, the same CERN and other international projects, largest and most visible new research projects. established in August 2015. founding LIGO members and the LIGO discovery team received the $0.5 million Gruber Cosmology Prize for the detection TRIUMF welcomes new associate director of gravitational waves, which the prize announcement described as “a technologically herculean and scientifi cally transcendent Oliver Kester has been appointed Oliver Kester’s research interests focus on achievement”. Drever, Thorne and Weiss associate laboratory director for the Kester will the production and transport of intense will also receive a gold medal recognizing Accelerator Division at TRIUMF in start his charged-particle beams, the development of their dedication and work. Finally, on 2 June, Canada, succeeding Robert Laxdal. Gabi Otto/GSI new role at accelerator cavities, beam instrumentation and the pioneering LIGO trio was awarded the An accomplished accelerator physicist TRIUMF in electron targets for heavy-ion storage rings. 2016 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics. The $1m and scientifi c leader, Kester is currently September. In his new role, effective from 12 September, prize, which is presented once every two a professor at Goethe-Universität he will be responsible for the operation of years, recognizes their instrumental role in Frankfurt and director at FAIR (Facility the accelerator facilities, the construction of establishing the experiment. for Antiproton and Ion Research) under the ARIEL project and the advancement of “The lion’s share of the credit for LIGO’s The recent discovery of a second black-hole merger marks the beginning of construction in Darmstadt, Germany. He accelerator research at TRIUMF. “I couldn’t gravitational-wave discovery belongs to gravitational-wave astronomy. has also held faculty and administrative be more thrilled to join TRIUMF at such an the superb 1000-member LIGO team, who positions at CERN, the University of exciting time for accelerator science at the pulled it off,” said Thorne. “They have made Munich and Michigan State University. laboratory,” said Kester. Weiss, Drever and me look good. And my • LIGO’s announcement in February was based In June, however, LIGO reported a second event, deep thanks go out, also, to the succession on the detection of waves from a single cosmic also from colliding black holes, which was detected A WARDS of outstanding LIGO directors who event that arrived at the interferometer sites on on 26 December. Named “GW151226”, it marks pioneering research in the properties of provided the leadership required for success 14 September 2015. The waves were generated the beginning of gravitational-wave astronomy, INR Markov prize for black holes, the spectra of their masses – Robbie Vogt, Stan Whitcomb, Jay Marx, 1.3 billion years ago by the merger of two orbiting said LIGO spokesperson Gabriela González. “It and radiation parameters. Frolov, who David Reitze, and especially Barry Barish, black holes, which caused tiny displacements takes a lot of people, physics and engineering black-hole theory was unable to attend the ceremony due to who designed and led the transformation (on the order of one part in 1021) in LIGO’s twin to build these exquisite instruments, and they other commitments, has made advances of LIGO from the small R&D project that interferometers located on either side of the US. detected these gravitational waves very clearly.” in our understanding of interior space and Weiss, Drever and I created.” The Institute for Nuclear Research (INR) black-hole entropy, extra-dimensional of the Russian Academy of Sciences has models and the interactions between black awarded its 2016 Markov prize to Victor holes and strings or branes. Berezin of INR RAS and Valery Frolov The award was presented at the 14th of Alberta University in Canada for their Prize winners Victor Berezin of INR RAS (left) Markov Readings in Moscow on 13 May. outstanding contributions to the theory and Valery Frolov of Alberta University. These are a series of international of black holes. Berezin is a well-known seminars held in commemoration of the specialist in the fi eld of gravity theory the theory of quantum and quasi-classical prominent Russian scientist Moisey Markov and cosmology. He contributed much to gravitational collapse, and carried out (1908–1994). 44 45 CERNCOURIER www. V OLUME 5 6 N UMBER 6 J ULY /A UGUST 2 0 1 6 CERN Courier July/August 2016 CERN Courier July/August 2016 Faces & Places Faces & Places Prizes galore for LIGO discovery A PPOINTMENTS Left to right: Gruber Foundation, Caltech, Bryce Vickmark Following the discovery of gravitational John Womersley appointed director of ESS waves by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), which was announced in February this year, the The European Spallation Source (ESS) under ESS John Womersley at the Foundation Stone breakthrough has been recognized by three construction in Lund, Sweden, has named Ceremony in 2014, which marked the major awards. John Womersley as its next director general. beginning of the construction of the ESS. On 2 May, the selection committee of Womersley, who is chief executive of the UK’s the new $3 million Special Breakthrough Science and Technology Facilities Council Scientists, staff, partner institutions and Prize in Fundamental Physics announced (STFC), will take over from current ESS countries across Europe have come together that LIGO founders Ronald Drever and director general Jim Yeck on 1 November. to build what will be the world's leading Kip Thorne of Caltech and Rainer Weiss More than 40 institutions from 15 neutron source for research on materials of MIT would share one third of the award, countries are participating in the €1.84bn and life sciences,” says Womersley. “The with the remaining amount being shared ESS, which will be the world’s most impressive progress at ESS can be seen in the equally between LIGO’s 1005 authors and powerful source of neutrons when it enters construction site in Lund and I am determined seven members of LIGO’s sister experiment full operation in 2025. Womersley, a to keep up the momentum.” VIRGO. The laureates will be recognized LIGO founders Ronald Drever, Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss. particle physicist who worked at Fermilab Yeck, who was previously director of the at the 2016 Breakthrough Prize ceremony LIGO/A Simonnet and later became a scientifi c adviser to the IceCube neutrino telescope project, joined in autumn, where the annual Breakthrough US Department of Energy, was directly since 2011 and is also the current chair of ESS as CEO and director general at the Prize in Fundamental Physics (which is involved in the UK’s decision to join the the European Strategy Forum on Research beginning of 2013 and successfully led ESS distinct from the special prize) will also be ESS project in 2014. He has led STFC, Infrastructures. into construction. The ESS ERIC (European presented. which manages the UK’s contribution to “I’m excited to join ESS. It’s one of Europe’s Research Infrastructure Consortium) was Just two days later, on 4 May, the same CERN and other international projects, largest and most visible new research projects.