PHYS/ASTR Colloquium: "Gravitational Waves: The Discovery that won the 2017 Nobel prize in Physics" - Dr. Lynn Cominsky (Professor, Sonoma State U.)

San Francisco State University

Physics & Astronomy Colloquium Series

Monday, March 16, 2026

SEIC 210, 3:30 PM

Dr. Lynn Cominsky (Prof., Sonoma State U.)

Gravitational Waves: The Discovery that won the 2017 Nobel prize in Physics

Abstract: In 1915, Albert Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity.  In this theory, gravity is not a force, but a property of spacetime in the presence of massive objects. A century later, on September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) received the first confirmed gravitational wave signals. Now known as GW150914, the event represents the coalescence of twodistant black holes that were previously in mutual orbit. LIGO’s exciting discovery provides direct evidence of what is arguably the last major unconfirmed prediction of Einstein’s Theory and has launched the new field of gravitational-wave astronomy. Prof. Lynn Cominsky

from Sonoma State University will present an introduction to LIGO, gravitational waves and black holes. She will also discuss the gravitational wave detection results reported from LIGO.

#sfstatephysics

#sfstateastronomy