Geoffrey Lovelace Receives “Early CAREER” Award

Geoffrey Lovelace, assistant professor of physics, has received the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award, one of the top honors for junior faculty that acknowledges promising work that integrates research and education. The honor comes with a $400,000 grant for Lovelace’s project, “CAREER: Computational Gravitational-Wave Science and Education in the Era of First Observations  . ” He and his research students will use supercomputer calculations to help LIGO  (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) observe as many gravitational waves  as possible.

Lovelace is a member of the Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy Center (GWPAC)  , based at CSUF. Working with their colleagues in GWPAC, the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration  and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration , Lovelace and his students will use supercomputers to calculate the gravitational waves from merging black holes and neutron stars, LIGO’s most important sources; and will calculate the most important source of noise limiting LIGO’s sensitivity.

They will share their results and experiences with students during an annual, week-long summer workshop that Lovelace will lead, where students from CSUF, Citrus College and Santiago Canyon College will participate in hands-on activities introducing them to supercomputers and to the dawning field of gravitational-wave astronomy; plus, learn to simulate and visualize merging black holes.

See also: CSUF NEWS SERVICE - National Science Foundation Honors CSUF Physicist