NEWSLETTER 2014-15 Special Features Listening to the Universe ADVANCED LIGO COULD PROVIDE BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERY LaCNS $4.9M Grant Advanced LIGO, the upgrade to the LIGO detectors that will provide Nuclear Physics an increase by a factor of 1,000 in the number of gravitational wave Big Data candidates, was officially dedicated on July 31, 2015. LIGO, together Medical Physics with its sister interferometers VIRGO and GEO in Europe and the Magnetocaloric Research planned KAGRA facility in Japan and LIGO-India, will look for the Inside this Issue predicted signals from compact binary inspirals and mergers in neutron star and black hole systems, together with the stochastic Chair’s Corner 2 signal from the Big Bang and unanticipated bursts of gravitational Awards 3 waves from distant cosmic events. Cooperative arrangements have Events 3-5 been made with observers at wavelengths from radio to gamma rays Student Activities 5 LIGO-Livingston to look for counterparts. Both the Livingston and Hanford detectors Outreach 6-7 have achieved lock, and the first science run with Advanced LIGO is scheduled to begin in Research News 8-11 September. See www.ligo.caltech.edu/LA for more information about LIGO and its Livingston Lab. Accolades 12-15 Student Profiles 17 Alumni News 18 Summer REUs on Campus Support your Alma Mater 19 For the fifth summer, the department has hosted two Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs -- one in physics and a second, in cooperation with the Louisiana Alliance for Simulation-Guided Materials Applications For more info visit: (LaSIGMA) program and CCT, in computational materials. www.phys.lsu.edu The 2015 physics program brought 15 students to campus Or contact Mimi LaValle to work with faculty in astrophysics, particle and nuclear External Relations Manager 2015 P&A REU Participants and LSU Faculty physics, condensed matter, atomic physics, quantum
[email protected] computing, and medical physics.