Gravitational waves offer a new way to study the universe by observing phenomena (such as stellar-mass binary black hole mergers) that cannot be studied any other way or by acquiring information from aspects of phenomena (such as binary neutron star mergers) that go beyond those accessible electromagnetically. I will summarize the scientific, technological, and “political” advances necessary to allow the first detections of these phenomena, briefly mention the latest results, show you how to access gravitational-wave data, and give examples of my current role as a LIGO noise hunter.

Biography: Beverly Berger is a member of the LIGO collaboration at Stanford University. She was previously Professor of Physics at Oakland University and a program officer in general relativity and gravitation at the National Science Foundation.

Location: Participate by Zoom or join colleagues in Wngr 149. Masks required. Please use all the space in 149, and ask an already-seated person if it OK before claiming an adjacent seat. The colloquium speaker will be presenting remotely.