Peter Shawhan

Last updated
Peter Shawhan
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Washington University in St. Louis
University of Chicago
Awards Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
Bruno Rossi Prize (2017)
Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research (2017)
Fellow, American Physical Society
Scientific career
Fields Physics
Gravitational waves
Institutions Caltech
University of Maryland, College Park
Doctoral advisor Bruce Winstein

Peter Shawhan is an American physicist. He is currently professor of physics at the University of Maryland and was a co-recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the Gruber Prize in Cosmology, and the Bruno Rossi Prize for his work on LIGO.

Contents

Biography

Shawhan received his bachelor's degree in physics in 1990 summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was an Arthur Holly Compton Fellow in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics. He was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in 1999 under the supervision of Bruce Winstein. [1] He was then a Millikan Prize Postdoctoral Fellow and a senior scientist at Caltech before becoming professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park. [2]

He works on LIGO and is chair of the division of gravitational physics of the American Physical Society. [3] [4] [5]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kip Thorne</span> American physicist (born 1940)

Kip Stephen Thorne is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainer Weiss</span> American physicist

Rainer "Rai" Weiss is a German-born American physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. He is a professor of physics emeritus at MIT and an adjunct professor at LSU. He is best known for inventing the laser interferometric technique which is the basic operation of LIGO. He was Chair of the COBE Science Working Group.

Carroll Overton Alley, Jr. was an American physicist. He served as the Principal Investigator on the Apollo Program's Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment, which significantly restricted the possible range of spatial variation of the strength of the gravitational interaction. Alley was a PhD student of Robert Henry Dicke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Allen (physicist)</span> American physicist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

Bruce Allen is an American physicist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover Germany and leader of the Einstein@Home project for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. He is also a physics professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the initiator / project leader of smartmontools hard disk utility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Drever</span> British physicist (1931–2017)

Ronald William Prest Drever was a Scottish experimental physicist. He was a professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology, co-founded the LIGO project, and was a co-inventor of the Pound–Drever–Hall technique for laser stabilisation, as well as the Hughes–Drever experiment. This work was instrumental in the first detection of gravitational waves in September 2015.

The MIT Center for Theoretical Physics (CTP) is the hub of theoretical nuclear physics, particle physics, and quantum information research at MIT. It is a subdivision of MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science and Department of Physics.

A Weber bar is a device used in the detection of gravitational waves first devised and constructed by physicist Joseph Weber at the University of Maryland. The device consisted of aluminium cylinders, 2 meters in length and 1 meter in diameter, antennae for detecting gravitational waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles W. Misner</span> American physicist (1932–2023)

Charles W. Misner was an American physicist and one of the authors of Gravitation. His specialties included general relativity and cosmology. His work has also provided early foundations for studies of quantum gravity and numerical relativity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandra Buonanno</span> Italian / American physicist

Alessandra Buonanno is an Italian naturalized-American theoretical physicist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam. She is the head of the "Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity" department. She holds a research professorship at the University of Maryland, College Park, and honorary professorships at the Humboldt University in Berlin, and the University of Potsdam. She is a leading member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which observed gravitational waves from a binary black-hole merger in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Barish</span> American physicist

Barry Clark Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves.

Marc Kamionkowski is an American theoretical physicist and currently the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests include particle physics, dark matter, inflation, the cosmic microwave background and gravitational waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nergis Mavalvala</span> Quantum astrophysicist (born 1968)

Nergis Mavalvala is a Pakistani-American astrophysicist. She is the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is also the dean of the university's school of science. She was previously the Associate Head of the university's Department of Physics. Mavalvala is best known for her work on the detection of gravitational waves in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project, and for the exploration and experimental demonstration of macroscopic quantum effects such as squeezing in optomechanics. She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiranya Peiris</span> British astrophysicist who studies the big bang

Hiranya Vajramani Peiris is a British astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge, where she holds the Professorship of Astrophysics (1909). She is best known for her work on the cosmic microwave background radiation, and interdisciplinary links between cosmology and high-energy physics. She was one of 27 scientists who received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018 for their "detailed maps of the early universe."

Marica Branchesi is an Italian astrophysicist. Her leadership and scientific work was pivotal for Virgo/LIGO's discovery of gravitational waves. She is vice president of International Astronomical Union Gravitational Wave Astrophysics Commission and member of the Gravitational Wave International Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Meshkov</span> American physicist (1927–2020)

Sydney Meshkov was a Theoretical Physicist who worked in gravitational wave, atomic, nuclear and particle physics.

Samaya Michiko Nissanke is an astrophysicist, associate professor in gravitational wave and multi-messenger astrophysics and the spokesperson for the GRAPPA Centre for Excellence in Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics at the University of Amsterdam. She works on gravitational-wave astrophysics and has played a founding role in the emerging field of multi-messenger astronomy. She played a leading role in the discovery paper of the first binary neutron star merger, GW170817, seen in gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation.

The Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics (MCFP) is a research institute at the University of Maryland, College Park focused on theoretical physics.

Peter Reed Saulson is an American physicist and professor at Syracuse University. He is best known as a former spokesperson for the LIGO collaboration serving from 2003 to 2007 and research on gravitational wave detectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rana X. Adhikari</span> American experimental physicist (born 1974)

Rana X. Adhikari is an American experimental physicist. He is a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and an associate faculty member of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (ICTS-TIFR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C.S. Unnikrishnan</span> Indian physicist and professor (born 1962)

C. S. Unnikrishnan is an Indian physicist and professor known for his contributions in multiple areas of experimental and theoretical physics. He has been a professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai and is currently a professor in the School of Quantum Technology at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology in Pune. He has made significant contributions in foundational issues in gravity and quantum physics and has published over 250 research papers and articles. Unnikrishnan is also a key member of the LIGO-India project and a member of the global LIGO Scientific Collaboration

References

  1. "NASAPeople". nasapeople.nasa.gov. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  2. Shawhan, Peter. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). University of Maryland, College Park.
  3. Rummler, Troy (27 June 2017). "The rise of LIGO's space-studying super-team". symmetry magazine. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  4. Melendez, Steven (2017-10-04). "How 3 Senior Physicists Crowdsourced Their Way To A Nobel Prize". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  5. 1 2 "Peter Shawhan Honored by USM Board of Regents - UMD Physics". umdphysics.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  6. "Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded for Detection of Gravitational Waves - UMD Physics". www.umdphysics.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  7. "Breakthrough Prize – Special Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics Awarded For Detection Of Gravitational Waves 100 Years After Albert Einstein Predicted Their Existence". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  8. zying (2018-09-13). "Physics Professor Peter Shawhan Awarded 2018 Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize". College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  9. "Alum Peter Shawhan Elected APS Fellow". Department of Physics. 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2019-12-28.