BROWNSVILLE ? Researchers studying the effects of gravity in space just received a nearly $5 million boost for their efforts.
The National Science Foundation has awarded The Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College a $4.9 million grant to expand the center?s research and support undergraduate and graduate programs in science, officials said at a press conference Monday.
The funds will bring the center, which opened in 2003 and is also funded by NASA, into a new phase, center director Mario Diaz said.
?We?re going to expand our interdisciplinary research ? through gravitational waves, a lot of mysteries of the universe could be revealed,? he said.
At the center, researchers are analyzing data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, to discern how waves of gravity affect objects in space.
LIGO is actually two observatories, in Louisiana and Washington, that both observe not outer space, but very small phenomena on Earth.
Both observatories have 2.5-mile long, L-shaped tubes, through which researchers send laser beams that bounce off mirrors inside the tubes, Diaz said.
The laser beams help researchers detect the slightest movement of the mirrors, brought on by gravitational waves.
Then, the investigators must determine which movements are from gravitational waves and which are from other influences, like seismic activity or even a passing car.
Studying gravitational waves ultimately helps researchers understand how dense objects in outer space, such as a set of binary stars or black holes, affect each other and the matter around them.
Gravitational wave astronomy is different from ?electromagnetic astronomy,? which relies on sight, telescopes and microwaves or gamma rays to understand the universe, Diaz said.
?It?s more like waves on the surface of the ocean,? he said. ?(Gravitational waves) are ripples in the fabric of space.?
UTB researchers are working with investigators at several other universities to analyze data from LIGO.
NASA and the European Space Agency are planning to launch a gravitational wave observatory into space in 2011. UTB?s research is helping to develop that project, officials have said.
In addition to expanding gravitational wave research, the NSF grant will help support the university?s computer science, physics and math programs, officials said. Through strengthening these programs, UTB officials hope to make a case for a doctoral program in physics, they said.
The university?s program will help spark an interest in science among high school and college students alike, said Adrienne Rodriguez, who has a master?s degree in physics from UTB and is working on a doctorate.
?We?ve involved high-school students in the center?s research,? she said. ?We?re going to spread the word on this program through the grant.?
Diaz said that the foundation?s investment could have a ripple effect on the larger Valley community as well.
?Many times people think studying black holes is not important in a region like ours,? he said. ?I think basic, excellent science can create a foundation for good applied science, and that can provide a foundation for good applied technology (programs). An outcome of that is, in the long term ? we?ll have a tremendous impact on our region.?
http://www.themonitor.com/news/gravitat ... space.html
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