The Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos is a multidisciplinary institute of Penn State researchers dedicated to the study of the most fundamental structure and constituents of the Universe.
News and Events
- Research on quantum cosmology carried out at IGC was highlighted in a documentary le big bang, mes ancètres et moi which premiered at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris on December 3, 2009. It has since been shown several times on the French and German TV. For a short glimpse of the interview with Abhay Ashtekar which featured in the documentary see minutes 3:50 to 6:30 of the clip at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbficp_2x4-le-big-bangmes-ancetres-et-moi_tech. Clip
Victor Taveras is the winner of the first Bergmann-Wheeler prize of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation. The prize is given for the best Ph.D. thesis in all sub-areas of quantum gravity since the last tri-annual conference of the Society. The selection committee consisting of Stephen Carlip (Chair), Gary Horowitz, Theodore Jacobson and Carlo Rovelli prepared the following citation:
"For contributions to loop quantum cosmology and the development of a novel extension of loop quantum gravity."
This prize carries a certificate and a check for $1,500 and will be awarded in the opening ceremony of the 19th International conference of the Society to be held in Mexico City in July 2009.
Nicolas Yunes is the winner of the first Juergen Ehlers prize of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation. The prize is given for the best Ph.D. thesis in all sub-areas of mathematical and numerical relativity since the last tri-annual conference of the Society. The selection committee consisting of David Garfinkle (Chair), Bernd Bruegmann, Bala Iyer and Alan Rendall prepared the following citation:
"For pioneering work on a variety of topics involving binary black holes, gravitational radiation, and Chern-Simons gravity"
This prize carries a certificate and a check for $1,500 and will be awarded in the opening ceremony of the 19th International conference of the Society to be held in Mexico City in July 2009.
Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest cosmic-ray detector, aimed at the study of the most energetic particles in the Universe. These are extremely rare particles with energies from 1018eV to 1020eV and beyond (a billion to a trillion times the energy stored in the mass of a proton). How Nature accelerates particles to such enormous energies is still a mystery. To detect them with good statistical precision, physicists from 17 countries are deploying 1600 detectors (water Cherenkov counters) over a 3000km2 area of Western Mendoza Province, Argentina, as well as 24 nitrogen fluorescence telescopes that look at the sky over the large ground array on dark, moonless nights. Another similar array of detectors is planned for deployment in Colorado. Penn State faculty Stephane Coutu and Paul Sommers are involved in the project, with Sommers serving as Co-Spokesman of the international Auger Collaboration. For more information, see the official Auger Web site. You can also explore the Auger Observatory using Google Earth.
