Pablo Laguna

Adjunct Professor

Education

Research

Numerical Relativity & Computational Astrophysics Simulations of compact object binaries

Supercomputer technology has changed dramatically the landscape of General Relativity. Numerical Relativity, namely the formulation of Einstein field equations in a way amenable to numerical analysis, has emerged as a field of its own. I am a numerical relativist studying astrophysical systems where general relativistic effects play a fundamental role. Currently, the primary focus of my research is the numerical simulation of the coalescence of black hole binaries. The collision of black holes is a central problem in General Relativity. This problem will not only expose the complex, non-linear nature of Einstein's field equations, but it will also bring General Relativity much closer in harmony with the observations of gravitational radiation expected to take place in the near future.

Biography

2008 - Director, Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Tech

2008 - Professor of Physics, Georgia Tech

2001 - 2008 Associate Director, Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, Penn State

2001 - 2006 Associate Director, Institute for Gravitational Physics & Geometry, Penn State

2000 - 2008 Professor, Depts. of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics, Penn State

1998 - 2000 Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State

1992 - 1998 Assist. Professor, Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State

1990 - 1992 Postdoc, Theoretical Astrophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory

1989 - 1990 Postdoc, Physics Department, Drexel University

1987 - 1989 Postdoc, Center for Relativity, University of Texas at Austin

1982 - 1987 Ph.D., Physics, University of Texas at Austin

1977 - 1981 B.Sc., Physics, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Mexico