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California Institute of Technology

Expertise

Dr Sigg is an expert in gravitational wave detector instrumentation with a particular interest in the control of the thermal aberrations that limit the power that can circulate within the detectors and thereby their sensitivity. He is the lead scientist at The LIGO Hanford Observatory in Washington, USA – one of two observatories that form the LIGO laboratory run by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These observatories are the most sensitive gravitational wave detectors in the world and were responsible for the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015, leading to a Nobel Prize in 2017. 

Collaborative research project

The OzGrav researchers at The ³ÉÈË´óƬ are installing a globally unique facility for testing new strategies for the precision control of wave fronts within large scale gravitational wave detectors. This facility funded by an ARC LIEF Grant will be the only place on earth outside of the world's multi-kilometer scale gravitational wave detectors to test these techniques.  

This collaboration will contribute to the development of a research plan to be carried out at the ³ÉÈË´óƬ test facility, to ensure the facility’s research aligns with the needs of the gravitational wave instrumentation community, and a magnet for leading researchers to validate new ideas

³ÉÈË´óƬ host

Professor David Ottaway 
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences 
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology 

about Dr Sigg.