[Classical Music]
>> In November of 1915, Albert Einstein presented
his Field Equations of General Relativity to the Prussian Academy of Science. This was
a revolutionary idea in Physics at a time that fundamentally changed our understanding
of how the Universe works. This year it is exactly 100 years old. It has created an entire
field of Relativistic Astrophysics and General Relativity.
O'Shaughnessy>> Physicists worldwide have coordinated together to create a series of
commemorative experiences. Ranging from conferences - for example several in Rio, Penn State,
and including the most recent AAS... and most notably at the April APS meeting.
General Relativity has transformed the way physicists work even on a day-to-day basis.
Changing the tools that we use to understand and describe the natural world, and of course,
there is a fabulously successful Theory of Gravity.
Campanelli>> Among its most astonishing predictions is the existence of gravitational waves and
black holes. This is the area our center here at Rochester Institute of Technology - the
Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation is working on.
Faber>> General Relativity is important for neutron star calculations - they are relativistic
objects. Many of the elements we see in the universe were created by neutron star mergers.
And it takes a sophisticated level of nuclear physics in order to make accurate predictions
and really be able to test results. Robinson>> Here at RIT we are fortunate to
have , in the CCRG, one of the world's foremost research groups in gravitational astrophysics
and general relativity. We also have the Center for Detectors and a laboratory for multi wavelength
astrophysics. So we can offer students a wide range of research projects.
Campanelli>> My own research is on simulations of binary black hole mergers. And this is
a field which is called Numerical Relativity - which is about solving the Einstein's Field
equations numerically to describe what happens during the collisions between black holes.
Ireland>> The CCRG is a great place to study numerical relativity because we have our own
in-house super computing resources... in addition to allocations to some of the nation's
largest computing resources for scientific computing.
Ruchlin>> So I work with Carlos Lousto. We are interested in what happens when black
holes are spinning very very quickly. We think that in the universe, black holes will be
spinning nearly as fast as they can. In order to find out what is going to happen at the
end-stage of their merger when they are orbiting very close to each other, we need to use full
numerical relativity. This requires a lot of computational resources which are available
here at the CCRG. Nordhaus>> My research and my students' research
is really cutting edge. We are in big data. We produce very large data sets. We run simulations
on massive government super-computers that run for a very long time. It is kind of teaching
students the tools and techniques that they need to do physics calculations - and other
calculations in the real world, at kind of an internet or big data scale.
O'Shaughnessy>> Several members of the CCRG, myself included, and most notably also professor
John Whelan, are members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration - or LSC. The LSC works together,
all collaborating, to analyze the information from this interferometric gravitational wave
detector, which is measuring a transverse... stretching and squeezing of a set of arms
as a gravitational wave passes by. Farber>> The CCRG is extremely active in outreach
efforts, both at RIT and in the greater community. There is the AstroDance project, which is
an innovative combination of science and art. Nordhaus>> And RIT is extremely unique in
that we have this one college, where we have at any given time about 1,500 Deaf and Hard
of Hearing students on campus. We are an extremely diverse campus. You'll see hearing students
signing with deaf students and deaf students communicating with hearing students. And as
part of that, we are building programs where deaf and hard of hearing students can become
involved in Astrophysics research and can pursue their interests in Astrophysics if
they have them. And we are especially unique in that we have a graduate program here. And
if you are a graduate student and you want to study astronomy or astrophysics or relativity,
and you are deaf or you are hard of hearing, there are not many places in the world that
you can go to to actually pursue that. We are probably the only place, the only institution
of higher education where you can come and you can study with a PhD advisor who communicates
with you in your own language. Robinson>> Modern Astrophysics is a collaborative
effort in which observation, theory and computer simulations are more closely interwoven than
ever before. So researchers need a working knowledge of sub-fields beyond their particular
areas. O'Shaughnessy>> In a sense we are all a big
team. Approaching the huge problem of ... basically uncovering an entire new field... and we can't
each individually tackle all of the possible puzzles ourselves... so we work together as
a team to cover all of our bases. Campanelli>> Coincidentally, after this century
celebration of Einstein's General Relativity... the physics community may witness a new discovery...
the discovery of gravitational waves. In fact the advanced LIGO detector is getting ready
to observe such gravitational waves in just a few years from now. And when that will happen,
then a new window into the universe will be opened.