LIGO

Graduate Alumni — PhD

Understanding Gravitational Waves and Their Sources: Robust Inference, Tests of Gravity, and Future Prospects

Payne, Ethan W. ・ PhD ・ 2026

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Probing Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Nuclear Physics with Gravitational Waves from Black Holes and Neutron Stars

Golomb, Jacob Matthew ・ PhD ・ 2025

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

A Glitch and the Matrix: Advances in Gravitational-Wave Glitch Mitigation and Acceleration of Pulsar Timing Analyses

Hourihane, Sophie Rose ・ PhD ・ 2025

Advisor: Chatziioannou, Katerina

Neutron Stars: Robust Constraints on Dense Matter from Astrophysics

Legred, Isaac Norman ・ PhD ・ 2025

Advisor: Chatziioannou, Katerina

Future Prospects in Gravitational Waves: From Testing Fundamental Physics to Instruments beyond LIGO

Seymour, Brian Christopher ・ PhD ・ 2025

Advisor: Chen, Yanbei

Robust Gravitational Wave Analysis at the Catalog Scale

Udall, Rhiannon Pollard ・ PhD ・ 2025

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Cosmic Gold Mining: Hunting for the Astrophysical Sites of r-Process Nucleosynthesis

Anand, Shreya ・ PhD ・ 2024

Advisor: Kasliwal, Mansi M.

Probing the Higher Redshift Universe by Studying Strong Lensing of Gravitational Waves and Enhancing Search Sensitivity of the GstLAL Search Pipeline

Li, Ka Yue Alvin ・ PhD ・ 2024

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Gravitational Wave Exotica - Advancing the Search for Signatures of Exotic Compact Objects and Gravitational Lensing from Data-Analysis and Theoretical Perspectives

Lo, Ka Lok (Rico) ・ PhD ・ 2024

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Interferometric Precision Measurement with Macroscopic Silicon Optomechanics

Markowitz, Aaron Gregory ・ PhD ・ 2024

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Next-Generation Technologies for Gravitational Wave Detectors

Gupta, Anchal ・ PhD ・ 2023

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Topics in Gravitational Wave Physics: Quantum Theory for Detector Improvement and High-Precision Modeling of Binary Black Hole Ringdown Waveform

Li, Xiang ・ PhD ・ 2023

Advisor: Chen, Yanbei

Searching for Gravitational Waves from Compact Binary Coalescences and Stochastic Backgrounds in the LIGO–Virgo Detector Network

Xiao, Liting ・ PhD ・ 2023

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Prototype Interferometry in the Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Venugopalan, Gautam ・ PhD ・ 2022

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Controlling and Calibrating Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors

Cahillane, Craig Russell ・ PhD ・ 2021

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Searching for the Astrophysical Gravitational-Wave Background and Prompt Radio Emission from Compact Binaries

Callister, Thomas Alfred, III ・ PhD ・ 2020

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay; Hallinan, Gregg W.

Core-Collapse Supernova Physics in the Multi-Messenger Era

Gossan, Sarah Elizabeth ・ PhD ・ 2019

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Fundamental Physics in the Era of Gravitational-Wave Astronomy: The Direct Measurement of Gravitational-Wave Polarizations and Other Topics

Isi Bañales, Maximiliano ・ PhD ・ 2019

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Mitigating Noise in Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors

Korth, William Zachary ・ PhD ・ 2019

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Improving the Performance and Sensitivity of Gravitational Wave Detectors

Quintero, Eric Antonio ・ PhD ・ 2018

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Long-Baseline Laser Interferometry for the Detection of Binary Black-Hole Mergers

Hall, Evan Drew ・ PhD ・ 2017

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Noise Cancellation for Gravitational Wave Detectors

Driggers, Jennifer Clair ・ PhD ・ 2015

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

Gauge Invariant Spectral Cauchy Characteristic Extraction of Gravitational Waves in Computational General Relativity

Handmer, Casey John ・ PhD ・ 2015

Advisor: Chen, Yanbei; Ott, Christian D.

Lock Acquisition and Sensitivity Analysis of Advanced LIGO Interferometers

Martynov, Denis V. ・ PhD ・ 2015

Advisor: Adhikari, Rana

The Needle in the 100 deg² Haystack: The Hunt for Binary Neutron Star Mergers with LIGO and Palomar Transient Factory

Singer, Leo Pound ・ PhD ・ 2015

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.

The Search for Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of Black Hole Binary Systems in Data from the LIGO and Virgo Detectors. Or: A Dark Walk through a Random Forest

Hodge, Kari Alison ・ PhD ・ 2014

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

The Importance of Spin for Observing Gravitational Waves from Coalescing Compact Binaries with LIGO and Virgo

Privitera, Stephen M. ・ PhD ・ 2014

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Search for Gravitational Waves from a Nearby Neutron Star Using Barycentric Resampling

Patel, Pinkesh Kiritbhai ・ PhD ・ 2011

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Length Sensing and Control of a Prototype Advanced Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detector

Ward, Robert Lawrence ・ PhD ・ 2010

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Signatures and Dynamics of Compact Binary Coalescences and a Search in LIGO’s S5 Data

Keppel, Drew Garvin ・ PhD ・ 2009

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

A Search for Gravitational Waves from Perturbed Black Hole Ringdowns in LIGO Data

Goggin, Lisa Maria ・ PhD ・ 2008

Advisor: Weinstein, Alan Jay

Topics in Gravitational-Wave Physics

Savov, Pavlin ・ PhD ・ 2008

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Topics in Gravitational-Wave Physics

Lovelace, Geoffrey Mark ・ PhD ・ 2007

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Topics of LIGO Physics: Template Banks for the Inspiral of Precessing, Compact Binaries, and Design of the Signal-Recycling Cavity for Advanced LIGO

Pan, Yi ・ PhD ・ 2006

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Topics in Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

O’Shaughnessy, Richard William ・ PhD ・ 2004

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Topics of LIGO Physics: Quantum Noise in Advanced Interferometers and Template Banks for Compact-Binary Inspirals

Chen, Yanbei ・ PhD ・ 2003

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Topics in LIGO-Related Physics: Interferometric Speed Meters and Tidal Work

Purdue, Patricia Marie ・ PhD ・ 2003

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Mirror Thermal Noise in Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors

Rao, Shanti Raja ・ PhD ・ 2003

Advisor: Libbrecht, Kenneth George

Lock Acquisition in Resonant Optical Interferometers

Evans, Matthew John ・ PhD ・ 2002

Advisor: Barish, Barry C.

Modeling and Detecting Gravitational Waves from Compact Stellar Objects

Vallisneri, Michele ・ PhD ・ 2002

Advisor: Thorne, Kip S.

Signal Extraction and Optical Design for an Advanced Gravitational Wave Interferometer

Mason, James Edward ・ PhD ・ 2001

Advisor: Vogt, Rochus E.; Porter, Frank C.

Experiments with a Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Antenna

Zucker, Michael Edward ・ PhD ・ 1989

Advisor: Drever, Ronald W. P.