Biography:Norna Robertson
Norna Robertson (FRSE, FInstP, FRAS, FAPS) is a lead scientist at LIGO at California Institute of Technology,[1] and professor of experimental physics at the University of Glasgow.[2] Her career has focused on experimental research into suspension systems and instrumentation to achieve the detection of gravitational waves.[3]
Norna Robertson | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Awards | President's Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, California Institute of Technology Staff Service and Impact Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Gravitational waves, experimental physics |
| Institutions | LIGO, California Institute of Technology, University of Glasgow |
| Thesis | Experiments relating to the detection of gravitational radiation and to the suppression of seismic noise in sensitive measurements (1981) |
| Doctoral advisor | Ron Drever and Jim Hough |
Education
Robertson obtained a Ph.D. in experimental physics in 1981 from the University of Glasgow, researching gravitational wave detection and how seismic noise could be suppressed in sensitive measurements.[4]
Research and career
Robertson began her postdoctoral career as a researcher at Imperial College London studying infrared astronomy.[5] In 1983, she joined the University of Glasgow as a lecturer and returned to gravitational waves research, becoming a Professor in 1999.[4]
In 2003, Robertson moved to the Gintzon Laboratory at Stanford University as a visiting professor, where her work focused on suspension systems for Advanced LIGO.[6] She became a lead scientist at the LIGO at California Institute of Technology in 2007, leading an international team of 20 scientists and engineers.[7] Her research contributed to the design of detection instrumentation that ultimately led to the first observation of gravitational waves in 2015.[8][9] Her work is now focused on the development of ultra-low noise suspensions systems for Advanced LIGO.[7]
Awards and honours
Robertson was awarded the President's Medal from the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2016 for her work on suspension systems for gravitational wave detection.[10] She received the California Institute of Technology Staff Service and Impact Award in 2017.[11]
She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,[12] the American Physical Society,[13] the Royal Astronomical Society, the Institute of Physics,[14] and the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation.[15]
References
- ↑ "Norna Robertson | Caltech Directory". https://directory.caltech.edu/personnel/norna.
- ↑ "University of Glasgow :: Story :: Biography of Norna Robertson". https://universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH1955&type=P.
- ↑ "'It's the discovery of the decade'" (in en). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-35555998/prof-norna-robertson-who-helped-discover-gravitational-waves.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Scottish Connection". https://www.rse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Science-Scotland-Issue-20-Gravitational-Waves.pdf.
- ↑ "Prof. Norna Anne Robertson - AcademiaNet". https://www.academia-net.org/profil/prof-norna-anne-robertson/1215879.
- ↑ Calendar, Stanford Event. ""Suspensions for Advanced LIGO"" (in en). https://events.stanford.edu/events/4/476.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Professor Norna Robertson, University of Glasgow". https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/staff/nornarobertson/#researchinterests.
- ↑ "President's Medals for gravitational wave researchers" (in en). https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/news/archives/2016/november/headline_498051_en.html.
- ↑ Redacción (2017-10-16). "La impresionante colisión de dos estrellas de neutrones que provocaron las ondas gravitacionales que predijo Einstein" (in es). BBC News Mundo. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-41637747.
- ↑ "President's Medals for University of Glasgow gravitational wave researchers" (in en). https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2016/october/headline_498037_en.html.
- ↑ "LIGO Staff Honored at Caltech's 2017 Service and Impact Awards". https://ligonews.blogspot.com/2017/06/ligo-staff-honored-at-caltechs-2017.html.
- ↑ "Professor Norna Anne Robertson FRSE" (in en-GB). 2020-03-24. https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/norna-robertson/.
- ↑ "APS Fellow Archive" (in en). http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm.
- ↑ "University of Glasgow :: Schools :: School of Physics and Astronomy :: Research :: Research Groups - Institute for Gravitational Research - Our Staff and Students - Personal details". http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/igr/index.php?L1=members&L2=member&name=nrobertson.
- ↑ "International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation". http://www.isgrg.org/fellows.php.
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