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PRINCESS OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR TECHNICAL & SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 2017: RAINER WEISS, KIP S. THORNE, BARRY C. BARISH AND LIGO SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION
14 June, 2017
In the 1980s, physicists Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne and Ronald Drever (who died in March 2017) proposed the construction of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) for the detection of gravitational waves –‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time– predicted by Albert Einstein a century earlier in his General Theory of Relativity. Between 1997 and 2006, the observatory was headed by physicist Barry C. Barish, who in 1997 promoted the founding of LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), which has brought together researchers from universities and institutions from all around the world. The LIGO detectors began operating in 2002 and, thirteen years later, LSC announced the first detection of gravitational waves originating from the merger of two black holes of hitherto unknown characteristics, constituting a milestone in the history of physics by confirming Einstein’s prediction and marking the beginning of a new field of astronomy, namely gravitational-wave astronomy. This discovery is considered one of the most important scientific achievements of the century as it validates one of the pillars of modern physics –the General Theory of Relativity– while opening up a new window through which to observe the Universe. Following the discovery, Ronald Drever, Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss were jointly honoured in 2016 with the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (shared with the team that contributed to the scientific paper), the Gruber Prize in Cosmology (USA), the Shaw Prize in Astronomy (Hong Kong), the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Physical Sciences (also shared with Barry C. Barish) and the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, the Kavli Foundation (USA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.
Minutes of the jury
At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, made up of Juan Luis Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Ignacio Cirac Sasturáin, Miguel Delibes de Castro, Luis Fernández-Vega Sanz, Cristina Garmendia Mendizábal, Álvaro Giménez Cañete, Bernardo Hernández González, Clara Menéndez Santos, Sir Salvador Moncada, Ginés Morata Pérez, Enrique Moreno González, Teresa Rodrigo Anoro, Inés Rodríguez Hidalgo, Manuel Toharia Cortés, chaired by Pedro Miguel Echenique Landiríbar and with Santiago Carcía Granda as acting secretary, has unanimously decided to confer the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific and Research jointly on physicists Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne, Barry C. Barish and LIGO Scientific Collaboration for the direct detection of gravitational waves, ripples in space-time anticipated by Albert Einstein in his Theory of General Relativity a century ago now. This achievement provides answers to one of the most important challenges of physics in its entire history. The Award recognizes the individual talent and collective work of more than a thousand researchers belonging to a hundred institutions in eighteen different countries. The LIGO project supposes a technological challenge of prime importance. The extraordinary precision achieved by its instruments has allowed the observation of the merger of very massive black holes that occurred more than a thousand million years ago. The detection of gravitational waves opens up a new window for the study of the Universe that will allow the discovery of new phenomena and the study of regions of space-time that have as yet been non-accessible using current techniques.
Statement by Barry Barish on being bestowed with the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
“I am honored and humbled to be awarded the prestigious Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research for 2017, along with my colleagues, Rai Weiss and Kip Thorne, and especially with the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 and after years of developing the techniques, we observed them from the merger of two black holes 100 years later. Now, we have the exciting prospect of viewing the universe in a totally new way. Who knows what wonders we will find?”
Statement by Kip S. Thorne on being bestowed with the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
“I am very pleased that the LIGO Scientific Collaboration is being awarded the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research, and feel greatly honored to be singled out, along with my esteemed colleagues Dr. Barry Barish and Dr. Rainer Weiss for special mention in connection with this award.”
Statement by Laura Cadonati, deputy spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, on being bestowed with the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
“The LIGO Scientific Collaboration is deeply honored to receive the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research with Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barish. The discovery of gravitational waves is a genuine breakthrough that opened the frontiers of a new kind of astrophysics and is already bringing new insights into the invisible side of the universe. We are honored the Foundation recognizes that this discovery would not have been possible without the decades-long scientific insight and dedication of hundreds of scientists and engineers from around the world, who have addressed technical challenges at the limits of human knowledge.”
Statement by Rainer Weiss on being bestowed with the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
“I am honored to be one of the receipients along with Kip Thorne, Barry Barish and the LIGO scientific collaboration of the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research. The award really celebrates the remarkable insight that Albert Einstein had a little over one hundred years ago in his then new theory of gravitation which predicted both gravitational waves and black holes. The award also recognizes the remarkable advances that have been made both in astrophysics and in the technology during those hundred years which enabled the recent measurements.”
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