Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Gravitational waves, black holes and relativity

Deirdre Shoemaker, Professor, Center for Gravitational Physics, UT Austin

Abstract

**This seminar will be presented LIVE in POB 6.304.  It will also be streamed live via Zoom.**

After decades of preparation, the era of gravitational wave astronomy has begun. The gravitational wave detectors, LIGO and Virgo, have published a catalog of 50 events of coalescing compact objects including black holes and neutron stars. I will present the role that numerical relativity played in the unveiling of the gravitational wave sky and anticipate how it might improve our understanding of gravity as the detectors improve. Throughout, I will highlight open questions and computational and data challenges.

Biography

Deirdre Shoemaker is a Professor of Physics, Director of the Center for Gravitational Physics, joined UT Austin in 2020 before that she was a professor of Physics at Georgia Tech and Associate Director of the Institute for Data, Engineering and Science at GT