Gravitational Waves

"The first direct detection of gravitational waves is now widely expected to be announced on 11 February by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Using LIGO's twin giant detectors — one in Livingston, Louisiana, and the other in Hanford, Washington — researchers are said to have measured ripples in space-time produced by a collision between two black holes." (Nature News)

Robert Ferdman, Research associate in Astrophysics, Department of Physics, McGill University

In his research, he uses the astounding timing precision of pulsars to perform the most demanding tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity, constrain the evolutionary histories of compact binaries that are formed from high-mass stars, assemble an array of millisecond pulsars as a Galactic-scale gravitational-wave detector, and search for even more pulsars.

(514) 398-1912. rferdman [at] physics.mcgill.ca. He's not available Wednesday between 1:00-2:00 PM, Thursday between 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM, and Friday between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM. (English, French but not for TV)