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
- The Center for Gravitational Wave Physics will hold a Science Exhibition and Reception on Friday, April 28, 2008 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Life Sciences/Chemistry Building overpass. The Exhibition will highlight the scientific achievements of the Center's students and post doctoral scholars. Center members will be on hand with poster exhibits of their work; refreshments will be served.
- Dr. Pablo Laguna is one of four international members elected to the Mexican Academy of Sciences in 2007. The Academia Mexicana de Ciencias is the Mexican equivalent of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, founded in 1959, is an organization of the most distinguished scientists working in diverse institutions in Mexico, as well as Corresponding Members in other countries who are prominent in their disciplines and who have contributed in various ways to the development of research in Mexico. A ceremony to celebrate the occasion is planned for March 2008 at Dr. Laguna's alma mater, the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana - Iztapalapa in Mexico City.
- Research on rogue black holes conducted by Dr. Kelly-Holley-Bockelmann, Dr. Deirdre Shoemaker and Nicolas Yunes was featured at the January 2008 American Astronomical Society Meeting. This research was also the subject of special coverage by National Geographic, Science, MSNBC and news services in Europe and Asia. Galaxy May Hold Hundreds of Rogue Black Holes
- Stephon Alexander and Martin Bojowald were named recipients of the Faculty Early Career Development award by the National Science Foundation. each of them will receive a five-year, $400,000 grant from the NSF. This CAREER program recognizes and supports the early career-development activities of scholars who are likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. Recipients are chosen on the basis of creative career development plans that integrate research and education within the context of their university's mission.
- Paul Sommers was elected Fellow of the APS for his significant contributions to experimental cosmic ray physics, for his major part in designing and building the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory, and his leadership role in using it to obtain novel and important insights into the nature and properties of the highest energy cosmic rays.
- Abhay Ashtekar was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Certificate and Rosette acknowledging this honor was presented during the annual AAAS meeting in Boston.
- Nicolas Yunes, a graduate student in the Department of Physics, received the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award. The awards "is considered to be among the most prestigious available to Penn State graduate students and recognizes outstanding achievement in scholarship and professional accomplishment."
To the Swift
The Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer satellite detected in February of 2006 the longest-lasting burst so far, labelled GRB060218, more than 2000 seconds long. Such gamma ray bursts are known to result from stars more massive than 25 solar masses which undergo core collapse, resulting in a highly relativistic jet which produces the gamma-rays, and at the same time the star ejects its outer envelope in a supernova explosion. While the gamma-rays from jets have been extensively studied, this is the first time that the supernova explosion has been observed as it breaks out from the opaque stellar wind of the progenitor star. Swift's sensitive X-ray detectors observed a characteristic black-body emission, which starts out weak compared to the non-thermal gamma/X spectrum of the jet burst, and becomes dominant by the time the jet burst ends, indicating the break-out of the supernova shock wave. Members of the Swift Penn State team published these results in a recent issue of Nature (vol. 442, p. 1008, August 31, 2006).
