The MCQST Colloquium Series features interdisciplinary talks given by visiting international speakers. The monthly colloquium covers topics spanning all MCQST research units and will be broadcast live via Zoom for audiences worldwide. The main goal of the series is to create the framework for idea exchange, to strengthen links with QST leading groups worldwide, as well as to act as an integral part of the local educational environment.

MCQST Colloquium: Nergis Mavalvala

We are excited to invite you to the colloquium talk by Nergis Mavalvala, MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics.

Agenda

14:00 | Teaser talk TBA

14:15 | Coffee break

14:30 | Colloquium talk by Nergis Mavalvala on “Listening to the Universe above the quantum din”

Listening to the Universe above the quantum din

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detected gravitational waves for the first time in 2015. Since then, hundreds more astrophysical observations have been confirmed. To detect these spacetime ripples requires measurement with sub-attometer precision. I will describe the quantum technologies that make such a measurement possible, enabling present and future discoveries.

About Nergis Mavalvala

Nergis Mavalvala PhD ’97 is the Dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics. Her research focuses on the detection of gravitational waves from violent events in the cosmos that warp and ripple the fabric of space-time. She is part of the team that in early 2016 announced the first direct detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, ushering in a new era in astrophysics. Mavalvala has also conducted experiments in the optical trapping and cooling of mirrors to enable observation of quantum phenomena in macroscopic objects. She is the recipient of a 2010 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Mavalvala earned a BA in physics and astronomy from Wellesley College and a PhD in physics from MIT.

Join in-person or via Zoom

Meeting-ID: 6555 7969 265, Passcode: mcqst2025