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Curious About the Cosmos

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Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 06:24

For the last four years, Aneesh Anandanatarajan has kept a running list of “big questions” about the universe and how it works. He started the list in high school but shows no signs of slowing down in his senior year as an astronomy and physics dual-degree student at the University of Maryland.Aneesh AnandanatarajanAneesh Anandanatarajan

“I am the type of person to ask questions until someone tells me to stop,” Anandanatarajan said. “I have about 40 questions on my list, and I like to return to them to see how I’ve progressed in terms of what I've learned and what I’m interested in.”

One of his early questions—how are electricity and magnetism related?—was written at a time when Anandanatarajan knew little about plasma astrophysics. Now, he’s conducting research in Physics Assistant Professor Sasha Philippov’s lab, where he uses physics-based simulations to study the turbulent environment and complex electromagnetic interactions around supermassive black holes.

While Anandanatarajan loves asking questions, he’s happiest sharing what he learned with others. As the tutoring chair for UMD’s Society of Physics Students, Anandanatarajan has become a physics ambassador while strengthening his knowledge of the subject.Aneesh Anandanatarajan and Othello GomesAneesh Anandanatarajan and Othello Gomes

“As a tutor and as the tutoring chair, it has been important to me to know physics well. I want to fully understand where these different concepts and equations come from,” Anandanatarajan said. “One of the things I'm most excited about is sharing physics with other people.”

Virtually hooked

Anandanatarajan has been interested in exotic objects like black holes and neutron stars since middle school, but he didn’t discover this passion in a lab or a planetarium. While watching YouTube one day, he found a channel with buzzy animated videos about popular science topics, including astronomy and physics. A few videos later, he was hooked.

“It captured my interest in more ways than I expected because I didn’t really know much about those subjects before middle school,” he said. “Over time, I watched more videos and realized that astronomy might be something I’d like to learn more about at an academic and professional level.”

Anandanatarajan said he was initially attracted to UMD’s “great astronomy program,” but he was thrilled to learn that he could add a second degree in physics by taking a few more classes. He’s enjoyed learning from professors who are exploring diverse fields of research.

“There are a lot of really great research topics here at Maryland and professors that are doing active research in those fields,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of great experiences with professors that want me to succeed and have pushed me to succeed.”

One of those professors is Philippov, whom Anandanatarajan started working with in spring 2024. Philippov studies high-energy astrophysics through a blend of theory and computer modeling with a focus on the physics of plasmas—hot, ionized gas surrounding black holes, neutron stars and other celestial objects. 

Anandanatarajan is using computer simulations to study how plasmas composed of electrons and positrons interact with other particles in the corona, an extremely hot and highly magnetized region that surrounds black holes, our sun and other space objects. Through a process called annihilation, these interactions can produce gamma rays, a type of radiation that astronomers can study to learn more about the universe.

“The corona is a very mysterious region that a lot of astronomers are very interested in probing,” Anandanatarajan said. “It’s essentially a breeding ground for electromagnetic activity, so we'd like to understand the phenomena that occur in that region because there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to our observations.”

Through this research, Anandanatarajan learned how to run Monte Carlo simulations that predict the probability of different outcomes—a skill that proved useful on other projects, like the up-and-coming study of high-energy particle collisions.

When interests collide

During the spring 2024 semester, a project in Physics Assistant Professor Christopher Palmer’s PHYS 441: “Introduction to Particle Physics” course let Anandanatarajan play an unexpected role in the next Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

During the course, Palmer teamed up with faculty at MIT to give students a front-row seat to discussions involving the Future Circular Collider (FCC), a proposed collider that would push the boundaries of particle physics beyond the capabilities of the LHC. The hope is that an upgraded collider could discover new particles or find evidence that deviates from the Standard Model of physics, which describes the fundamental forces that shape the universe.

Anandanatarajan and other students at UMD and MIT analyzed Monte Carlo simulations to determine how to precisely measure novel processes produced in electron-positron collisions from the FCCee accelerator, the first stage of the FCC.

“Essentially what we wanted to do was characterize different kinematic properties, such as the energy, momentum and angles at which these produced particles came out,” Anandanatarajan explained.

In March, this culminated in a visit to the second annual FCC workshop, where students presented their projects and spoke with leaders in the field.

“We learned a lot about how high-energy physics is conducted and the planning that is needed for a mega collider that may or may not be built 30 years from now,” Anandanatarajan said. “We talked to many different experts in the field who were thankfully friendly and willing to talk to undergrads about these types of topics.”

This experience initially felt disparate from his other projects, but Anandanatarajan realized that electron-positron collisions and large Monte Carlo simulations play an important role in astrophysics, too. After he earns his undergraduate degree, Anandanatarajan plans to continue studying astrophysics in a Ph.D. program that will allow him to keep asking—and answering—those big questions he’s carried with him for years.

Until then, he looks forward to spending his senior year sharing his passion with anyone willing to listen. He has several ideas for the Society of Physics Students—including a possible YouTube channel, harking back to his initial inspiration—to get students more engaged in physics.

“Making people excited about physics has always been a passion of mine,” he said. “I feel like I enjoy physics more than the average person, so I want to share those feelings with others and show them all of the cool things that physics has to offer.”

Kasra Sardashti Brings Summer Program to UMD to Promote Diversity in Quantum Research

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Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

Quantum research involves many challenges, from building tiny intricate devices and interpreting the unintuitive microscopic world to grappling with unwieldy calculations. The community of quantum researchers also has to contend with societal issues, like the long-established racial and gender disparities in physics and trends that overhype or mystify quantum technologies. 

As a quantum researcher, Kasra Sardashti, who joined the UMD Department of Physics in March as an assistant research professor and a principal investigator at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS), takes a practical, hands-on approach to problem solving. His research focuses on removing bottlenecks that limit the development of practical quantum devices. He’s also tackling another problem he believes is holding back quantum research: a lack of diversity in the researchers joining the field.

“I have a strong commitment to promoting diversity in STEM,” Sardashti said. “I've always found it surprising that there is such a significant underrepresentation of women and minorities in physics and engineering.”

According to data through 2021 from the American Physics Society, the American Institute of Physics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, women received fewer than 22% of physics doctoral degrees annually in the U.S. And the five-year average of data through 2021 shows that while communities marginalized by race or ethnicity made up about 37% of the U.S. college-age population, members of those communities earned only 15% of the physics bachelor’s degrees and 8% of the doctoral degrees and held only 5% of physics faculty position.

Sardashti has seen colleagues from diverse backgrounds bring valuable new ideas and perspectives to the quantum research community—a field that is steadily growing. He wants to ensure it has a robust, diverse workforce to support its growing needs, and he doesn’t believe that getting more people into physics or math classes will be sufficient to get enough people working in the field. Getting people interested in quantum research often requires getting them past a discomfort with quantum physics, which Sardashti calls “quantumphobia.” 

Sardashti believes the most effective way to counter quantumphobia is letting students perform experiments themselves so they can see the practical side of the field and have fun getting their hands on real projects. He decided to apply that approach in his efforts to attract students from underrepresented groups into the field. Last year, he and his colleagues started the Summer Quantum Engineering Internship Program (SQEIP) to give diverse groups of undergraduate students the chance to get their hands on equipment in real quantum research labs and gain practical experience with quantum engineering.

When Sardashti moved to UMD, SQEIP came with him. The facilities and researchers at the LPS Qubit Collaboratory and UMD’s Quantum Materials Center (QMC) created a new home for the program, and this summer they introduced 15 students to quantum research. 

“I think that the part that drew me to science and engineering was actually doing things with my hands and getting a hands-on experience—experiential learning,” Sardashti said. “I think we should provide that to students. And this is how we jump started the program.”

Sardashti’s own path to quantum physics started from a practical, hands-on background. As a kid, he enjoyed working on things, like fixing computers and working on the wiring in the walls of his family’s home in Tehran.

Pursuing his practical interest, he attended Tehran Polytechnic where he studied materials engineering. Physics classes were required for the major, and the quantum physics ideas from the classes ensnared his imagination. So, he added extra physics courses to his schedule. 

He continued studying materials science while pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Erlangen in Germany and his doctoral degree at the University of California, San Diego. During this time, his interest in physics attracted him to the intersection of material engineering and applied physics, and he studied the materials that make solar panels function. After that, he dove into quantum research as a postdoctoral researcher at the New York University Center for Quantum Phenomena and then as an assistant physics professor at Clemson University.

Now, Sardashti specializes in improving quantum devices and enabling new uses for the technology. His work includes studying how superconductor fabrication processes affect the resulting properties, designing voltage-tunable superconducting quantum devices, and proposing experiments to demonstrate non-Abelian statistics using quantum devices. 

As Sardashti carried out his research, he kept noticing a lack of diversity around him and began searching for a way to address the issue. He decided he needed help to reach students who are underserved by the current system, so he began contacting professors at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) looking for someone interested in working with him. After several dead ends, John Yi, a chemistry professor at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) responded, and they started collaborating. 

“A lot of it was John's drive,” Sardashti said. “It's not that easy to go into an HBCU, pull a professor away from their four-course semester schedule, and be like, ‘Hey, can you just do something on the side?’ But he was willing to do it. He really wanted to get engaged. He's really passionate about training his students.”

Together Sardashti and Yi obtained funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy and launched SQEIP to give students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, firsthand quantum engineering experience. The program gathered its first group of 11 students at Clemson University in summer 2023.

Yi is instrumental in running the program and takes a lead role in recruiting and selecting students from underrepresented backgrounds from both his own university and across the country. 

SQEIP hit a road bump when Sardashti joined UMD in March, just a couple of months before the program’s second summer. Even though it was a tight schedule, Sardashti and Yi decided to relocate the program and take advantage of the experts and labs at UMD. In just a couple of months, they had to get local scientists and faculty to buy into the effort and agree to share their time, expertise and resources with visiting students. They also had to arrange student financial support, travel and housing. Fortunately, they connected with UMD Physics Professor and QMC Director Johnpierre Paglione, who helped run the program, recruit other colleagues and arrange for the students to work in QMC labs. 

“After learning about SQEIP, I was delighted to participate by incorporating quantum materials training into the program,” Paglione said. “This was quite natural for us, since we run a condensed version each year as part of our Fundamentals of Quantum Materials Winter School, and QMC has the facilities to accommodate such a group.”

This year SQEIP included five students from WSSU and 10 students from nine other universities. Once the students arrived at UMD in May, they were split into two groups, which each spent three weeks at either QMC or LPS before swapping for another three weeks. 

At QMC, the students explored how materials used in quantum devices are created and studied. For example, they used ultra-high-temperature furnaces and arc melting station (which can reach temperatures up to about 2,000 F and 3,600 F, respectively) to make their own crystal materials by carefully combining chemicals they had measured and mixed together. They were also trained to use techniques, like X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence, to observe the structures of materials they had fabricated. They also measured the physical and magnetic properties of materials in very high magnetic fields and ultra-low temperatures.

“It’s really amazing to see students come into QMC without any experience and learn to synthesize novel materials like topological insulators and superconductors, all in a matter of a few weeks!” Paglione said. “Growing crystals is one of those things that’s fun and exciting, while also crucial to helping nurture a deep appreciation for the materials that will form the next generation of quantum devices.”

At LPS the students tackled several projects that introduced them to the basics of quantum device research. For instance, they dipped electric circuits into liquid nitrogen (which is below −321 F) to observe how the electrical conductivity changed with temperature. They then explored even colder temperatures using laboratory equipment, like a dilution refrigerator, which can produce temperatures less than a tenth of a degree above absolute zero. Extremely cold temperatures are often essential to getting quantum devices to function, and the students used the frigid conditions when measuring the properties of superconductors and microwave cavities, which play crucial roles in many quantum devices. 

“I think the most beneficial part of the program is just the ability to utilize the resources that QMC and LPS had that you probably wouldn't get at your run-of-the-mill university,” said Taylor Williams, an information technology major at WSSU who participated in the program this year. “Working hands-on with the dilution refrigerator—that surprised me, just because it's so expensive. So, I was thinking we would tour it and look around, but I didn't think we'd actually get to play with it and analyze data off of it.”

By exposing the students to quantum engineering techniques, the program not only lets them connect with the field of quantum research but also provides them with context on how jobs in other fields might interact with or support quantum engineering. For instance, if participants end up going into chemistry and are producing new materials, their experiences during the program will provide insights into how those materials might be used in quantum devices. 

“It's a great learning experience and a great way to start off with a lot of different options and different directions for where you want to go,” said Brenan Palazzolo, a physics major from Clemson University who participated in the program this year. “Any STEM major should apply. It was really an amazing program to have such a broad spectrum of students.”

The program wasn’t all work. Projects weren’t scheduled on the weekends, so participants had a chance to explore the area and see tourist sites like the White House, Smithsonian museums and the Lincoln Memorial in nearby Washington, D.C. Students also found time to have fun in the labs, like a group that used a microscope to get an up-close look at colorful flecks in rocks they had bought at a Smithsonian gift shop. 

“I liked that we were really close to D.C.,” Palazzolo said. “It was kind of fun on the weekends and also really informative during the week. It wasn't just one thing that I was learning. I was learning the ins and outs of a lot of different parts of quantum research and the quantum processes for materials.”

Even after students return home, the program continues to provide advice to the participants and support their career progress. Alumni can request financial support to attend academic conferences where they can practice communicating about research, connect with scientists from other institutions, and get a sense of the broader opportunities available in the field. Alumni are also invited to apply for the following year’s program so that they can tackle more advanced projects using the techniques they learned the previous year.

“Johnpierre, myself, our leadership team at LPS, we actually believe in this,” Sardashti said. “I think this is a very good step—an important step—for people to get drawn to the field.”

Story by Bailey Bedford

UMD Award Provided Undergraduate with Experience Bombarding Samples with Neutrons at a National Lab

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Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

For students interested in experimental research, there is no substitute for performing experiments in a lab. Working in a lab is invaluable for picking up important skills and learning if a research area is a good fit.

For senior physics and mathematics double major Patrick Chen, who plans to pursue experimental physics in the future, UMD has provided ample opportunities for hands-on experience. Throughout his time at UMD, Chen has taken the initiative to work outside his classes and get practical lab experience. This summer an endowed undergraduate award allowed Chen to further expand that experience by funding his travel to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. At the lab, he bombarded samples with neutrons from a nuclear reactor in experiments he had previously only been able to simulate. 

“I always enjoyed hands-on stuff,” Chen said. “I was really compelled to want to see what it's actually like doing the experiments and whether that's something I actually like, as well as to learn about the process and see what it's like to travel to these facilities to go do work.”

The trip provided Chen with practical experience using lab equipment that requires large, specialized facilities—like a nuclear reactor. It also gave him a broader perspective on the reality of being an experimental physicist. The insights and experiences come at a critical time as Chen begins his senior year and considers his options for graduate school and professionally pursuing physics. Patrick ChenPatrick Chen

Chen’s opportunity to visit ORNL was built on a foundation of research experience that he has been establishing throughout his time at UMD. He got an early start exploring research. The summer before his freshman year, he came to campus early and participated in UMD’s Toolkit for Success program. The program, run by Donna Hammer, the physics director of education, and Angel Torres, the physics outreach coordinator, helps students build skills and explore career options through physics and math lessons, a research project and meetings with professionals from industry, government, and academia.

“I think that program is really great, but also after coming to UMD, Angel and Donna have been incredibly helpful if I have any questions or need anything,” Chen said. “They're always there for me and they've been very helpful during my time here at UMD in navigating the physics department and making me aware of opportunities.” 

During Chen’s freshman year, he kept an eye out for more opportunities to get research experience. He attended a department event where members of several labs presented their research to students. The work being performed in the lab of Nick Butch, an Adjunct Associate Professor of physics at UMD and a Physicist at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, caught Chen’s attention, and Butch welcomed Chen into the lab when he reached out. Initially, Chen mainly served as an extra pair of hands around the lab, assisting with activities like processing data that labmates had collected and programming the heating cycles on the furnaces used to fabricate materials.

Eventually, Butch created a project for several undergraduate students to work on as a group, aiming to provide them with experience in the research area of condensed matter physics, which he specializes in. The topic deals with how particles, particularly electrons, interact to produce the emergent properties of a material, and classes on condensed matter are generally taught at the graduate level, which can make it tricky for undergraduate students to explore an interest in the topic. 

“We make our own materials, so the benefit of having undergrads work on that kind of research is that it doesn't actually necessarily require a lot of physics classroom knowledge to get started,” Butch said. “The way that I have it set up, we don't necessarily have the students sitting and doing heavy analysis that is requiring a lot of mathematics or anything like that.”

In the project, the students make a variety of material samples themselves and then measure the properties of the materials. Since the students work as a group and individuals can come and go, it gives them a chance to explore condensed matter research, without the hassle of starting a project from scratch or experiments being left unfinished if they’re a bad fit for a particular student. Chen and a few of his classmates have kept the project going over the past couple of years, and by working together they can schedule around their classes and steadily maintain progress improving the processes, making new materials and refining their measurement skills.

“Patrick is a wonderful student,” Butch said. “I look forward to seeing impressive things from him in the future.”

When Chen started looking for summer research opportunities in 2023, Butch encouraged him to apply to the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at NIST, which is supported by the Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering. Chen did, and the program accepted him. He was assigned to work with NIST Instrument Scientist Jonathan Gaudet who works at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. Gaudet gave Chen a project exploring the magnetic behaviors of materials called Weyl semimetals. 

When studying Weyl semimetals and other materials, researchers, like Gaudet, often rely on neutron scattering experiments to study the material. In the experiments, researchers shoot neutrons through a material, which provides them with an up-close image of the structure of materials—kind of like a microscope. 

But unlike a microscope that uses visible light, neutron scattering doesn’t just provide an image of the surface. Neutrons can pass through solid objects without much chance of interacting since they don’t have an electrical charge—meaning they don’t interact with the outer shell of electrons of an atom and must hit the much smaller target of the nucleus to interact. If researchers send enough neutrons into a material, a few will collide and be deflected from their original path. Researchers can analyze where the deflected neutrons are sent to determine the hidden structure they interacted with inside the material. 

Unfortunately, the NIST Center for Neutron Research is in the middle of an extensive repair and upgrade project, so the equipment for performing neutron scattering experiments has been unavailable for use. Since Chen couldn’t perform measurements at NIST to observe the structure of real Weyl semimetals, he had to pursue an alternative method of investigation—simulating the materials on a computer.

Chen’s efforts last summer produced a simulation that he used to predict how neutrons would scatter through Weyl semimetals. But Chen still wanted to perform real neutron scattering experiments himself. So, he was interested when Gaudet mentioned an upcoming trip to ORNL that Chen could join. However, to take the opportunity, Chen had to cover his travel expenses. He applied for a College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences Alumni Network Endowed Undergraduate Award and obtained the necessary funding. He was one of only nine students from across the entire College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences to receive funding through the program this year.

With the money, Chen was able to join the trip to ORNL in Tennessee as part of his fellowship this summer. There, he got to experience the culture of a new laboratory and was finally able to perform the neutron scattering experiments that he’d spent the last summer studying through a computer program. He helped perform measurements on Weyl semimetals for his own project as well as other projects from Gaudet’s lab. 

Not everything went smoothly. Gaudet had time reserved to use three different machines at the lab, and technical issues sprung up on two of the machines—one wouldn’t cool down properly and another had a mechanical malfunction. So before getting experience running the experiments, Chen got a taste of troubleshooting equipment on a fixed schedule.

“Sitting at a computer looking at either generated data or gathered data, that's not actually like dealing with the machines breaking down, figuring out what can we do since we lost time because we had to fix the machines and things like that,” Chen said. “I think having done this once now, it's really helped me to understand a lot more how the instruments actually work and given me a better understanding of the process, which has helped me better contextualize and understand the data I have been working with.”

With those insights and new experimental data in hand, Chen is ready to move on to the next step of research: analyzing the data and sharing it with the rest of the research community. Chen’s initial analysis of the data he collected, as well as data from other experiments, validates his project from last summer.

“Patrick’s simulations led to several predictions, which could be verified with neutron scattering experiments,” Gaudet said. “He carried out such neutron experiments this summer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and successfully confirmed his predictions. The success of his project speaks to Patrick's motivation, curiosity, and ability for science, which I hope he will pursue further.”

During his last year at UMD, Chen plans to apply to graduate programs in physics and to continue working with Gaudet to write a paper on his research project to submit to an academic journal.

“I enjoyed the experience immensely, both for being able to gather the data and see all the stuff and do all the experiments as well as getting the chance to travel to the Smoky Mountains,” Chen said. “If I do end up continuing with condensed matter in grad school, neutron scattering is something that's probably pretty likely that I'll be using, so getting this experience now is really valuable.”

Story by Bailey Bedford

Catching Cosmic Waves

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Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

University of Maryland (UMD) physics Ph.D. student Max Trevor found himself at a crossroads in 2016. Long fascinated by black holes, Trevor studied the enigmatic objects using X-ray astronomy as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). But as his graduation date grew closer, Trevor wondered how he could take his passion to the next level. 

A groundbreaking announcement helped Trevor make a decision. In February 2016, scientists working on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project announced that for the first time in history, they detected gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime caused by some of the most violent events in the universe, waves that were caused by two black holes colliding with each other billions of light-years away. For Trevor and many other researchers, the Nobel Prize-winning discovery opened up an entirely new way of observing the universe.

“I had some experience with X-rays at UMBC, which I enjoyed,” Trevor recalled. “But hearing about LIGO’s success made me think that gravitational astronomy was going to be the new hot research area for high-energy astrophysics. At that moment, I knew I had to jump in no matter what.”

Knowing that he wanted to pursue gravitational wave research and LIGO science as a graduate student, Trevor found his perfect match at UMD. Attracted by the Department of Physics’ decades-long legacy of gravitational wave research and its continued influence on the field, he joined the lab of Peter Shawhan—a professor of physics and LIGO principal investigator—in spring 2020. Together, they’re working to detect gravitational waves and improve the quality of the data collected by LIGO to ensure its accuracy for all researchers in the community.  

Shawhan, whose work with LIGO stretches back to his time as a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech in 1999, says that the project has come a long way since the announcement of its initial success.

“Today we can laugh and say, ‘Oh, it’s just another regular binary black hole merger,’ but it was a really big deal the first time we were able to detect one,” Shawhan said. “We’re now in the middle of LIGO’s fourth observational run. Thanks to decades of hard work from across the globe and our efforts here at UMD, we can now observe these events every couple of days.” 

Filtering out the noise, keeping the community connected

Detecting gravitational waves in space is no easy task, even now. To do its job, LIGO requires incredibly sensitive instruments called interferometers, which use laser beams to measure minute changes in distance caused by passing gravitational waves. There are currently two interferometers in the United States—one in Louisiana and another in Washington state—and it’s Trevor’s job to weed through the flood of data these interferometers produce, searching for the telltale signs of a gravitational wave event. 

“I write code that performs data analysis in real time. It basically asks, ‘Is this a gravitational wave, yes or no?’ and it tries to match the data points with known profiles of gravitational waves,” Trevor explained. “After that’s done, it repeats the process with the next batch. All this happens in seconds.”

Although interferometers can capture faint signals that come with faraway colliding neutron stars or merging black holes, the instruments are also prone to catching other waves that may not be involved with the cosmos at all—like nearby earthquakes, moving trains or even local weather. Trevor uses tools like machine learning to correlate these irrelevant waves with potential sources and adjusts the detection code to avoid them. According to Shawhan, Trevor’s work is paving the way for upgrades to the LIGO system for future observational runs. 

“Max’s improvements to the algorithms are especially valuable for detecting signals that are particularly challenging to identify,” Shawhan said. “He’s made it easier to separate out irrelevant noise from signals that are made by massive black holes.” 

Trevor is also a major part of the effort to keep astronomers around the world in touch with LIGO’s latest findings. He’s in charge of operating and running a rapid alert software package called Python search for Compact Binary Coalescences (PyCBC). Any time a potential gravitational wave is detected in space, PyCBC feeds information into a system that sends out rapid alerts to astronomers around the world through NASA’s General Coordinates Network—giving them a chance to turn their telescopes to the right part of the sky and potentially catch any visible light from explosive cosmic events. Thanks in part to Trevor’s efforts, PyCBC sends out an alert about once every three days on average, helping to produce over 120 alerts total since LIGO’s current run began.  GCN diagramGCN diagram

“The data is collected, analyzed and sent out really quickly,” Trevor said. “The astronomy community can get preliminary alerts about a possible event within 30 seconds. Timeliness is essential so that scientists can observe the event right as it’s happening and we can form a better understanding of phenomena like black holes and neutron star mergers. It’s really fulfilling for me to play a part in keeping everyone connected.” 

Since joining Shawhan’s lab, Trevor has made significant contributions to LIGO, co-authoring over 30 highly cited papers on the data gathered by the system. As he nears the completion of his doctoral program at UMD, Trevor hopes to continue his work. He believes that his projects, specifically those focused on identifying extraneous noise sources, will play a role in optimizing the next version of LIGO and bring scientists closer to understanding the world beyond Earth. 

“This current observational run is projected to end in June 2025, which is when LIGO will undergo crucial upgrades and changes to make it even more sensitive than previous iterations,” Trevor said. “I’d like to keep doing my part in helping the project stay alive—and supporting the community that seeks to explain how our universe works.”  

Faculty, Staff, Student and Alumni Awards & Notes

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Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

We proudly recognize members of our community who recently garnered major honors, began new positions and more.

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