Ronald Drever
| Ronald W. P. Drever | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1931 UK |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Nationality | UK |
| Fields | Physics, Laser physics, Experimental Gravitation |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology, Glasgow University |
| Alma mater | Glasgow University |
| Known for |
Laser stabilizing technique Pioneering laser interferometric gravitational wave observation. |
| Notable awards |
Einstein Prize (2007) by American Physical Society Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016) Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016) Shaw Prize (2016) Kavli Prize (2016) |
Ronald William Prest "Ron" Drever (born 1931) is a Scottish-American experimental physicist. He was a Professor Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology, co-founded the LIGO project, and was a co-inventor of the Pound–Drever–Hall technique for laser stabilisation. This work was instrumental in the first detection of gravitational waves in September 2015.[1][2][3][4][5]
Drever began his career at Glasgow University, before being recruited to form a gravitational wave program at Caltech.[6]
Drever's contributions to the design and implementation of the LIGO interferometers were critically important to their ability to function in the extreme sensitivity realm required for detection of gravitational waves (10−23 strain).
Drever's most recent work involved the development of magnetically levitated optical tables for seismic isolation of experimental apparatus.[7]
See also
- Hughes–Drever experiment - A test of the fundamental isotropy of mass and space.
Honors and awards
Ronald Drever has been recognized by numerous awards including:
- Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [8] (2002)
- Shared the Einstein Prize (2007) with Rainer Weiss
- The Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)
- The Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
- The Shaw Prize (2016) (together with Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss).[9]
- The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics (2016).[10]
References
- ↑ Knapton, Sarah (12 February 2016). "British scientist who played key role in gravitational waves research is suffering from dementia". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ Twilley, Nicola. "Gravitational Waves Exist: The Inside Story of How Scientists Finally Found Them". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ↑ Abbott, B.P.; et al. (2016). "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger". Phys. Rev. Lett. 116: 061102. arXiv:1602.03837
. Bibcode:2016PhRvL.116f1102A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102. - ↑ Naeye, Robert (11 February 2016). "Gravitational Wave Detection Heralds New Era of Science". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ↑ Castelvecchi, Davide; Witze, Alexandra (11 February 2016). "Einstein's gravitational waves found at last". Nature News. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19361. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ↑ OVERBYE, DENNIS , CORUM, JONATHAN and DRAKEFORD, JASON (11 February 2016). "Gravitational Waves Detected, Confirming Einstein's Theory". New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ S. J. Augst & R. W. P. Drever (2000). "Measurements of Mechanical Q in Levitated Paramagnetic Crystals" (PDF). Amaldi Conference 2000. Caltech.
- ↑ Five Caltech Faculty Members Elected to Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- ↑ Shaw Prize 2016
- ↑ "2016 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics | www.kavliprize.org". www.kavliprize.org. Retrieved 2016-06-02.