Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: California State University, Fullerton

Title of entry: To the Edge of the Universe — and Beyond

About this entry: Cal State Fullerton’s Nicholas and Lee Begovich Center for Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy was established in 2012 to foster gravitational-wave research, education and outreach. The story was published in fall 2022 to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the research center and the scientific achievements that have laid the foundation for future discoveries. In 2015, a team of Cal State Fullerton physicists and student researchers, part of the international Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration, contributed to the first discovery of gravitational waves from colliding black holes. This discovery confirmed a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity. Einstein theorized that gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time that travel at the speed of light — exist.

Since, the CSUF researchers and their students have contributed to more gravitational-wave discoveries. To date, LIGO and Virgo (Italy) scientific collaborations have observed 90 gravitational wave events, including binary black holes, binary neutron stars and black hole neutron star systems. The CSUF physicists co-authored the 2021 Cosmic Explorer Horizon Study, funded by a National Science Foundation grant. The study outlines plans for Cosmic Explorer, the U.S.’s next-generation gravitational-wave observatory. Since its establishment, the university’s gravitational-wave center has received $7.5 million in philanthropic gifts and $8 million in federal funding. The research center provides undergraduate students with hands-on research experiences that prepares them for careers in science and technology fields.