Lecture followed by Q&A
Witte Hall
Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 7:00pm
NEW SERIES - SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE
Echoes from the Cosmos: Pioneering Contributions to Gravitational Wave Observation
Barry Barish, PhD
Distinguished Professor, Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California, Riverside
Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 7:00pm
Doors open at 6:30pm
Dr. Barry Barish received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pivotal role in the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detector and the observation of gravitational waves, sharing the honor with Rainer Weiss and Kip S. Thorne. He began his career in high-energy physics, making significant contributions at Stanford and Fermilab. In 1994, Barish became the principal investigator for LIGO, implementing necessary design changes and establishing the LIGO Scientific Collaboration to involve more scientists. Construction of LIGO's interferometers began in 1994, with observations starting in 2002. After years without detection, Advanced LIGO successfully detected gravitational waves on September 14, 2015.
