Gravity and astrophysics at UMiss

In conjunction with the launch of the documentary film “LIGO Generations” on Space.com, The LIGO Scientific Collaboration is hosting an interactive Ask Me Anything (AMA) session at Reddit.com, featuring members of the UM-LIGO group. In addition to LIGO researchers, AMA participants will also meet Kai Staats, the filmmaker who produced “LIGO Generations” and its predecessor, “LIGO: A Passion for Understanding.”

To participate, create an account at reddit.com/r/science (takes only a few seconds) and visit the site Friday to post your questions. See space.com for more details on the event.

Where: www.reddit.com
When: Friday, February 13, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST / -5 GMT

After many weeks of intensive preparations, today the documentary film LIGO Generations was premiered on space.com: http://www.space.com … e-film-hd-video.html

Created and directed by Kai Staats (filmmaker, writer and, as he puts it “recovering entrepreneur”) the film features researchers of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and charts the history of the field, and the dramatic next phase about to unfold with Advanced LIGO.

Filmed at MIT and at the LIGO Livingston Observatory, LIGO Generations was supported by the University of Mississippi through NSF award PHY-1067985.

One year ago, during this workshop at Ole Miss, we started putting together a review on tests of general relativity using present and future astrophysical observations. That review is finally on the arXiv. Check it out! A big “thank you” to all the people who attended the workshop and to all coauthors.

George Pappas is visiting the group for three weeks in November. Welcome, George!

The University of Mississippi invites applications for a postdoctoral
position in the area of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics. The
applicant must have (or be close to completing) a Ph.D. in Physics or
Astrophysics, with a good track record in one or more of the following
research areas: gravitational-wave source modeling and astrophysics,
numerical relativity, post-Newtonian theory, alternative theories of
gravity, perturbation theory of stars and black holes.

The Gravitational and High-Energy Theory Group at the University of
Mississippi is active in various areas of theoretical and experimental
gravity, and is part of the LIGO collaboration. Members of the group
include Emanuele Berti, Luca Bombelli, Marco Cavaglia, Alakabha Datta
and Tibor Torma, adjunct professors Vitor Cardoso and Ulrich Sperhake,
several postdocs and graduate students.

The successful applicant is expected to engage in a collaborative
research program involving several institutions, including Caltech and
Princeton in the USA, Lisbon, Cambridge, Rome and Aveiro in Europe,
and Para’ University in Brazil (among others).

A curriculum vitae (including a list of publications and a statement
of research interests) should be sent to the following e-mail address:

grpostdoc [at] phy.olemiss.edu

Please use the subject “Gravitational theory postdoc”. Applicants must
also arrange to have at least three recommendation letters to be sent
to the same email address.

Applications must be submitted as soon as possible, and possibly no
later than 12/31/2014, but late applications may be considered until
the position is filled.