LIGO Scientific Collaboration

Formation| 1997[1]

Membership

| 1659 scientists[2]

LSC Spokesperson

| Stephen Fairhurst
Award(s)| Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
Bruno Rossi Prize (2017)
Albert Einstein Medal (2017)
Princess of Asturias Award (2017)
Website| www.ligo.org

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) is a scientific collaboration of international physics institutes and research groups dedicated to the search for gravitational waves. It complements the LIGO Laboratory, an organization based at the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology which constructed and now operates the LIGO observatories. The LSC contributes to developing detector technologies, assists with collecting and validating data from the LIGO and GEO600 detectors, and is responsible for analyzing the data and publishing scientific results. The LSC is led by a Spokesperson, which as of 2025[update] is Stephen Fairhurst of Cardiff University.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Collaboration leaders
* 3 Collaboration member groups
* 4 Notes
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## History

The LSC was established in 1997 as part of a reorganization of the LIGO Project under the leadership of Barry Barish.[3] Its mission is to ensure equal scientific opportunity for individual participants and institutions by organizing research, publications, and all other scientific activities, and it includes scientists from both LIGO Laboratory and collaborating institutions. Barish appointed Rainer Weiss as the first spokesperson. Subsequent spokespersons have been elected by members of the LSC.

LSC members have access to the US-based Advanced LIGO detectors in Hanford, Washington and in Livingston, Louisiana, as well as the GEO600 detector in Sarstedt, Germany. Under an agreement with the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), LSC members also have access to data from the Virgo detector in Pisa, Italy. While the LSC and the Virgo Collaboration are separate organizations, they cooperate closely and are referred to collectively as "LVC".[4] In 2019, the Japanese KAGRA collaboration signed an agreement to collaborate with the LSC and Virgo[5] and the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collective is called "LVK".

On 11 February 2016, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations[lower-alpha 1] announced that they succeeded in making the first direct gravitational wave observation on 14 September 2015.[6][7][8][9]

## Collaboration leaders

Spokespersons of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, with Assistant or Deputy Spokespersons (when one was appointed)  Spokesperson Name | Term of office | Deputy or Assistant | Notes

|
|
|

Rainer Weiss | 1997-2003 | none |
Peter Saulson | 2003-2007 | none |
David Reitze | 2007-2011 | none |
Gabriela González | 2011-2017 | Marco Cavaglià, Assistant (2013-2017) |
David Shoemaker[10] | 2017-2019 | Laura Cadonati, Deputy (2017-2019) |
Patrick Brady[11] | 2019-2025 | Jess McIver, Deputy (2023-2025) |
Stephen Fairhurst[12] | 2025-2027 | Peter Shawhan, Deputy (2025-2027) |

## Collaboration member groups

Institutional members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration as of July 2025, from public summary of the LSC roster https://my.ligo.org/census.php

Institution | Country | Website featuring LIGO research

|
|

Albert-Einstein-Institut, Hannover  |  Germany | Binary Merger Observations and Numerical Relativity, Laser Interferometry and Gravitational Wave Astronomy
Albert-Einstein-Institut, Potsdam-Golm  |  Germany | Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity
American University  |  United States |
Australian National University  |  Australia | Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics
Bard College |  United States |
Bar-Ilan University |  Israel |
Barry University  |  United States |
California Institute of Technology |  United States | LIGO Lab, Caltech LIGO Astrophysics
California State University, Fullerton |  United States | Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Center
California State University, Los Angeles |  United States |
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics |  Canada |
Cardiff University |  United Kingdom | Gravity Exploration Institute
Carleton College |  United States |
Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute |  India |
Charles Sturt University  |  Australia |
Chennai Mathematical Institute |  India |
Chinese University of Hong Kong  |  Hong Kong |
Christopher Newport University |  United States |
Chung-Ang University  |  South Korea |
Colorado State University |  United States |
Concordia University Wisconsin |  United States |
Cornell University |  United States |
Directorate of Construction Services and Estate Management, Department of Atomic Energy  |  India |
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University  |  United States |
Eötvös Loránd University  |  Hungary | Eötvös Gravity Research Group
Ewha Womans University  |  South Korea |
Georgia Institute of Technology  |  United States | Center for Relativistic Astrophysics
Goddard Space Flight Center |  United States |
Government Victoria College, Palakkad  |  India |
Haverford College |  United States |
Helmut Schmidt University  |  Germany |
Hobart and William Smith Colleges |  United States |
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research |  India |
Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT), São Paulo State University  |  Brazil |
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay  |  India |
Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar  |  India |
Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad  |  India |
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras  |  India |
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata  |  India |
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune  |  India |
Inje University  |  South Korea |
Institut de Física d'Altes Energies |  Spain |
Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat  |  India |
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais |  Brazil |
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics |  India |
Johns Hopkins University |  United States |
Kennesaw State University |  United States |
Kenyon College |  United States |
King's College London, University of London  |  United Kingdom |
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute |  South Korea |
Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information |  South Korea |
Leibniz University Hannover  |  Germany |
LIGO Hanford Observatory  |  United States | LIGO Hanford Observatory website
LIGO Livingston Observatory  |  United States | LIGO Livingston Observatory website
Louisiana State University |  United States | Experimental & Theoretical General Relativity
Maastricht University |  Netherlands |
Marquette University  |  United States |
Marshall Space Flight Center |  United States |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |  United States | MIT LIGO
Missouri University of Science and Technology |  United States |
Monash University  |  Australia |
Montana State University |  United States | Gravitational Physics at MSU
Montclair State University |  United States |
Moscow State University  |  Russia |
Nagoya University  |  Japan |
National Central University  |  Taiwan |
National Institute for Mathematical Sciences |  South Korea |
National Institute of Technology Calicut  |  India |
National Tsing Hua University  |  Taiwan |
Niels Bohr Institute |  Denmark |
Northeastern University |  United States |
Northwestern University |  United States | Gravitational Waves & Multi-Messenger Astronomy
Pennsylvania State University |  United States | Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos members in LIGO
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics |  Canada |
Queen Mary University of London |  United Kingdom |
Rochester Institute of Technology |  United States | Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation
Royal Holloway, University of London |  United Kingdom |
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology  |  India |
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |  United Kingdom |
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics |  India |
Seoul National University  |  South Korea |
Sonoma State University |  United States |
Stanford University |  United States | Stanford LIGO Group
Stony Brook University, Center for Computational Astrophysics  |  United States |
St. Thomas University (Florida)  |  United States |
Sungkyunkwan University |  South Korea |
Swinburne University  |  Australia | ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
Syracuse University |  United States | Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai  |  India |
Technical University of Braunschweig  |  Germany |
Trinity College (Connecticut) |  United States |
Tsinghua University  |  China |
University College London |  United Kingdom |
University of Adelaide  |  Australia |
University of Antioquia  |  Spain |
University of Arizona |  United States |
University of Arkansas |  United States |
University of Birmingham |  United Kingdom | Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
University of British Columbia  |  Canada |
University of Brussels  |  Belgium | Precision Mechatronics Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley |  United States |
University of California, Davis |  United States |
University of California, Riverside |  United States |
University of Cambridge |  United Kingdom | Institute of Astronomy - Cosmology and Fundamental Physics
University of Chicago |  United States |
University of Florida |  United States | University of Florida Astrophysics
University of Glasgow |  United Kingdom | Institute for Gravitational Research
University of Guadalajara  |  Mexico |
University of Hamburg |  Germany |
University of Manitoba |  Canada |
University of Maryland, Baltimore County |  United States |
University of Maryland, College Park |  United States | Gravitation Experiment Group
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth |  United States |
University of Melbourne  |  Australia |
University of Michigan |  United States | Michigan Gravitational Wave Group
University of Minnesota |  United States | LIGO@UMN
University of Mississippi |  United States |
University of Montréal / Polytechnique |  Canada |
University of Nevada, Las Vegas |  United States |
University of Nottingham |  United Kingdom |
University of Oregon |  United States |
University of Portsmouth |  United Kingdom |
University of Rhode Island |  United States |
University of Sannio |  Italy |
University of Santiago de Compostela |  Spain |
University of Sheffield |  United Kingdom |
University of Southampton |  United Kingdom |
University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute |  United States |
University of Stavanger  |  Norway |
University of Strathclyde |  United Kingdom |
University of Szeged  |  Hungary |
University of Texas at Austin |  United States |
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |  United States | Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
University of the Balearic Islands  |  Spain | Relativity and Gravitation Group
University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, International Centre for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific  |  China |
University of the West of Scotland |  United Kingdom |
University of Tokyo  |  Japan | Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, Gravitational Wave Group
University of Utah |  United States |
University of Warwick |  United Kingdom |
University of Washington |  United States |
University of Washington Bothell |  United States |
University of Western Australia  |  Australia |
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee  |  United States | Center for Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics
University of Zurich |  Switzerland |
Vanderbilt University |  United States |
Villanova University  |  United States |
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |  Netherlands |
Washington State University |  United States |
Western Washington University |  United States |

## Notes

1. ↑ The 11 February 2016 announcement team were Kip Thorne, David Reitze, Gabriela González, and Rainer Weiss.

## References

1. ↑ "About the LSC". LIGO Scientific Collaboration. http://www.ligo.org/about.php.
2. ↑ "LSC/Virgo Census". myLIGO. https://my.ligo.org/census.php.
3. ↑ Setting Priorities for Large Research Facility Projects Supported by the National Science Foundation. National Academies Press. 2004. pp. 129–136.
4. ↑ Gabriela González; Fulvio Ricci (2015-12-06). "Open call for partnership for the EM identification and follow-up of GW candidate events". https://dcc.ligo.org/public/0110/M1300550/011/LVC_MOUcallAndSummary.pdf.
5. ↑ Whitney Clavin (2019-10-04). "KAGRA to Join LIGO and Virgo in Hunt for Gravitational Waves". https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20191004.
6. ↑ Twilley, Nicola. "Gravitational Waves Exist: The Inside Story of How Scientists Finally Found Them". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/gravitational-waves-exist-heres-how-scientists-finally-found-them.
7. ↑ Abbott, B.P. (2016). "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger". Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (6). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102. PMID 26918975. Bibcode: 2016PhRvL.116f1102A.
8. ↑ Naeye, Robert (11 February 2016). "Gravitational Wave Detection Heralds New Era of Science". Sky and Telescope. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/gravitational-wave-detection-heralds-new-era-of-science-0211201644/.
9. ↑ Castelvecchi, Davide; Witze, Alexandra (11 February 2016). "Einstein's gravitational waves found at last". Nature News. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19361. http://www.nature.com/news/einstein-s-gravitational-waves-found-at-last-1.19361. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
10. ↑ "LIGO Scientific Collaboration Elects David Shoemaker as Spokesperson". 2017-03-31. https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20170330.
11. ↑ "UW-Milwaukee astrophysicist elected spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration | Newswise: News for Journalists". https://www.newswise.com/articles/uw-milwaukee-astrophysicist-elected-spokesperson-of-the-ligo-scientific-collaboration.
12. ↑ "Cardiff scientist elected to lead global gravitational-wave collaboration". 2025-05-19. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2913381-cardiff-scientist-elected-to-lead-global-gravitational-wave-collaboration.

## External links

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* LIGO Magazine

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