Rainer Weiss

Rainer Weiss
Weiss in December 2006
Born(1932-09-29)September 29, 1932
Berlin, Germany
DiedAugust 25, 2025(2025-08-25) (aged 92)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS, PhD)
Known forPioneering laser interferometric gravitational wave observation
AwardsEinstein Prize (2007)
Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
Shaw Prize (2016)
Kavli Prize (2016)
Harvey Prize (2016)
Princess of Asturias Award (2017)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2017)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Laser physics
Experimental gravitation
Cosmic background measurements
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisStark Effect and Hyperfine Structure of Hydrogen Fluoride (1962)
Doctoral advisorJerrold R. Zacharias
Doctoral studentsDirk Muehlner, David Owens, Patricia Downey , Daniel Dewey, Jeffrey Livas, Nelson Christensen, Peter Fritschel, Michelle Stephens, Joseph Kovalik, Joseph Giaime, Partha Saha, Nergis Mavalvala, Brett Bochner, Brian Lantz, Julien Sylvestre, Ryan Lawrence, Rana Adhikari
Other notable studentsBruce Allen

Rainer "Rai" Weiss (/waɪs/; German: [vaɪs]; September 29, 1932 – August 25, 2025) was a German-born American physicist of partly Jewish descent (his father was Jewish).[1] He was known for his works in gravitational physics and astrophysics.

Works

He was a professor of physics emeritus at MIT. He was best known for inventing the laser interferometric technique which is the basic operation of LIGO.[2]

Weiss was Chair of the COBE Science Working Group.[3][4][5]

In 2017, Weiss was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish, "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".[6][7][8][9]

Death

Weiss died at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 25, 2025, at the age of 92.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Emvogil-3.mit.edu" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 McCain, Dylan Loeb (August 26, 2025). "Rainer Weiss, Who Gave a Nod to Einstein and the Big Bang, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  3. ↑ Lars Brink (2 June 2014). Nobel Lectures in Physics (2006 – 2010). World Scientific. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-981-4612-70-8.
  4. ↑ "NASA and COBE Scientists Win Top Cosmology Prize". NASA. 2006. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Weiss, Rainer (1980). "Measurements of the Cosmic Background Radiation". Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 18: 489–535. Bibcode:1980ARA&A..18..489W. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.18.090180.002421. S2CID 121134404.
  6. ↑ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2017". The Nobel Foundation. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Rincon, Paul; Amos, Jonathan (3 October 2017). "Einstein's waves win Nobel Prize". BBC News. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Overbye, Dennis (3 October 2017). "2017 Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to LIGO Black Hole Researchers". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  9. ↑ Kaiser, David (3 October 2017). "Learning from Gravitational Waves". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

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