Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Physicist Stefan Ballmer Named APS Fellow

Tuesday, October 26, 2021, By Dan Bernardi
Share
College of Arts and SciencesLIGONational Science FoundationPhysics
Stefan Ballmer

Stefan Ballmer

Stefan W. Ballmer, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). He joins 23 previous University faculty members to receive the distinction during the 100 years the award has existed. The fellowship recognizes members who have made advances in physics through original research and publication, or who have made significant contributions in the application of physics to science and technology.

The APS honors each of their fellows with a dedicated citation for their work. Ballmer’s citation reads, “For a critical role in the design and commissioning of the Advanced LIGO detectors and the scientific interpretation of their observations, for leadership in the development of third-generation gravitational-wave detectors, and mentoring of the next generation of gravitational-wave experimenters.”

Ballmer has been a professor at the University since 2010 and his research interests span experimental gravitational-wave physics and gravitational-wave detector technology. In 2015, Ballmer led a team of University physicists, along with APS Fellows Duncan Brown, Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics, and Peter Saulson, professor emeritus of physics, who were instrumental in making the first observation of gravitational waves. This crowning achievement in gravitational-wave astronomy opened a new window onto the cosmos and confirmed a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity. Those detections of the after effects of a collision of two black holes were made by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO), which Ballmer helped to design and build.

Since then, through grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Ballmer and his students have been working to improve the detection capabilities of Advanced LIGO. The team has been researching and designing improved reflective coatings for the detectors’ mirrors and new laser wavefront control sensors and actuators. Ballmer was also a principal investigator on the NSF’s Horizon Study for Cosmic Explorer, a U.S. next-generation gravitational-wave detector concept capable of observing colliding black holes, and merging neutron stars across the entire universe and cosmic time. Graduate students of Ballmer’s research group are also on site at the observatories right now, preparing the detectors for the next observation run.

Along with Ballmer, other recent APS fellows from Syracuse University include Lisa Manning, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and founding director of the BioInspired Institute, and Christian Santangelo, professor of physics, who each earned the honor in 2019. Jennifer Ross, professor and current department chair of physics, was named an APS Fellow in 2018.

  • Author

Dan Bernardi

  • Recent
  • Men’s Soccer Team Gives Back to Syracuse Community for Season of Support
    Friday, June 2, 2023, By Kathleen Haley
  • June 30 Deadline Set for Fiscal 2023 Year End Business
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By News Staff
  • DPS Accepting Sign-Ups for R.A.D. Summer Session
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Alex Haessig
  • Syracuse Stage Adds 2 Musicals to 50th Anniversary Season
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Supporting, Advocating for Trans Youth Will Help Them Thrive As Adults
    Friday, May 26, 2023, By Daryl Lovell

More In STEM

Mechanical Engineering Student Ruohan Xu Receives Norma Slepecky Undergraduate Research Prize

Recent mechanical engineering and applied mathematics graduate Ruohan Xu ’23, G’24, has received the Norma Slepecky Undergraduate Prize for his research activities. Xu received the award from the Women in Science and Engineering Review Committee and was nominated by his…

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Sam Clemence to Receive Deep Foundations Institute Legends Award

The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the DFI Educational Trust Legends Committee has chosen Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Sam Clemence as a recipient of one of the DFI Legends Awards for 2023. This award was established to honor practitioners…

Physics and Mathematics Major Chance Baggett ’24 Named an Astronaut Scholar

Chance Baggett, a rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying physics and mathematics and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, has been named a 2023-24 Astronaut Scholar by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). Founded…

Aphasia Research Lab Seeks Participants for Stroke Treatment Study

Strokes affect nearly 800,000 individuals in the United States each year. To bring attention to the risk factors for strokes and how to prevent them, the National Stroke Association holds Stroke Awareness Month during the month of May. Those who…

Syracuse Center of Excellence Announces New Co-Chairs of Industry Partners Council

The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems at Syracuse University (SyracuseCoE) is proud to announce the appointment of Yu Chen and Scott MacBain from Carrier Corporation as the new co-chairs of the SyracuseCoE Industry Partner Council. In…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.