Next month, we’ll be welcoming the 2017 Nobel Laureate for Physics, Professor Rainer Weiss, to our University for the annual Southampton Theory Astrophysics and Gravity (STAG) Research Centre lecture.
The lecture will describe the history of gravitational wave detection and the techniques used by the instruments. The links with Einstein’s theory of relativity and the astrophysical implications will also be discussed, and the talk will end with a vision for the future of gravitational wave astronomy.
Date and time: Wednesday 3 October at 14:30
Location: Turner Sims
Due to high demand, tickets for the event are now sold out, however there will be a live stream of the lecture available to watch here.
Professor Rainer Weiss is an Emeritus Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was central to the ground-breaking first detection of gravitational waves in September 2015. He was awarded the 2017 Nobel prize in Physics for the discovery, with half of the award presented to himself and the other half shared between Kip Thorne and Barry Barish.
Director of the STAG Research Centre, Professor Kostas Skenderis, said:
“It is a tremendous privilege to have Professor Rainer Weiss delivering our keynote address. The detection of gravitational waves, 100 years after they were first proposed by Einstein, is one of the most important scientific discoveries of our times and Professor Weiss has been a leader and a pioneer in the effort that led to this momentous discovery.”
Our students can obtain a refund of the £5 ticket cost after the lecture. Please complete a sign-up sheet, available on the day of the lecture, so that Turner Sims can process the refund.
You can find further information about the STAG Research Centre here.
