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When Susan Scott began looking for gravitational waves more than 25 years ago, many scientists were skeptical of finding anything.
Nearly 100 years after Einstein first proposed that these tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime existed, Professor Scott was part of an international team of 1,000 who eventually detected them in 2015.
“That detection involved two colliding black holes and the two amazing projections of Einstein’s theory are black holes and gravitational waves and they came together in that one event,” he said.
“It’s like the most magical story in science.”
Professor Scott of the Australian National University is one of four scientists – and the first female physicist – to receive Australia’s top science award for their pioneering work in discovering gravitational waves that open a new window to the universe.
He shares the $ 250,000 Prime Minister’s Science Award with David Blair of the University of Western Australia (UWA), Peter Veitch of the University of Adelaide and David McClelland of the Australian National University.
“Australia has a presence in this field now thanks to the work we have done over 30 years,” said Professor Scott, who is a lead researcher at the ARC Center of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav).
Australia is one of the four nations that joined the Advanced LIGO Project, which made the historic discovery.
The field of gravitational wave research in Australia was started in the 1980s by Professor Blair, who built a first detector in Western Australia.
“This is something we’ve been doing for a long, long time,” he said.
“But we were also doing it because we wanted Australia to be part of this discovery and it’s wonderful that this has been recognized.”
“This is an Australian physics award.”
A role model for women in science
Professor Scott leads a team of scientists who are instrumental in analyzing data and deciphering the signals collected by gravitational wave detectors.
He also spearheaded Australia’s efforts to track gravitational wave detection by optical telescopes to detect kilonova bursts created by merging neutron stars.
Professor Scott said she hopes the award will inspire young women to pursue careers in physics.
“It could easily be the case that the four recipients were all male because that’s how the camp was when I started,” he said.
“I think it’s great for our young early career scientists to see … that they can go as far as possible with their careers.”
Experimental physics began his career working with Professor Sir Roger Penrose, who just won a Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking work which proved that black holes were possible according to Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
But it wasn’t until she returned to Australia from the UK in 1990 that she thought about focusing on gravitational waves.
“When I got to Canberra I thought ‘Yes, there is something in these gravitational waves’.”
“I don’t think I would have embarked if I hadn’t convinced myself that the waves were really an implication of the theory,” he said.
“I’m just glad it didn’t take another 20 years.”
Aim for the impossible and do the impossible
Professor Blair has been developing technologies to detect gravitational waves for 40 years and has set up a research center in Gingin, Western Australia.
The research and technologies developed by Professor Blair and his team were instrumental in the detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO Observatory in 2015.
When Professor Blair started working on gravitational wave projects in the United States in the 1970s, he thought it would only take a couple of years.
“I never imagined that 40 years later I would still try to detect gravitational waves.
“Even now that you know how to do the calculations and can calculate their sensitivity, it’s still pretty hard to really believe that you can measure these things,” he said.
He said the success of the extraordinary quest to find gravitational waves was a tribute to the hard work of an immense team of people and the support of his university.
“I especially thank UWA for nurturing us and nurturing this view that physicists can aim for the impossible and do the impossible,” he said.
He was at UWA where he worked with Peter Veitch and David McClelland.
Developing a technology that didn’t exist
Professor Veitch was one of Professor Blair’s graduate students.
Now at the University of Adelaide, it focuses on the development of advanced lasers and optics now used in the Advanced LIGO detector.
One of the problems that the LIGO project faced was that the high-power laser beams used inside the detectors are slightly distorted as they travel through the instrument.
‘We have come up with this new technology that can measure these effects with sensitivity … about a factor of 30 better than anything else in the world,’ said Professor Veitch.
‘We are developing technology that didn’t exist until we invented it,’ said Professor Veitch.
“Basically, it’s just great to see Australia appreciating its scientific contribution to this momentous event.”
He is also pleased that the award recognizes all four of them, although he is quick to point out that they represent a much larger team of contributors.
‘The four of us have been working together for a long time, but there have been many people who have worked with us as well,’ said Professor Veitch.
“In physics, if you want to work on these really big projects that answer fundamental questions, it’s rare that it’s just one person or even a couple of people.”
Australia could lead the way in the future
Professor McClelland and his team pioneered optical and quantum technologies that allow components within detectors to work together in harmony and made LIGO detectors so sensitive that they can detect a gravitational wave signal every week when they are working.
He said the award is “the culmination of 30 years of commitment to one of the most exciting achievements in the history of physics.”
“What we have understood about the universe so far has been just by looking at light, electromagnetic waves and some neutrinos.
“This is a new window to explore the universe,” said Professor McClelland.
Professor McClelland said the quartet was honored to accept the award on behalf of the Australian effort, and they hoped it would lead to bigger things in Australia’s gravitational wave detection.
“In the long run, we would like to have one of these magnificent ground detectors in Australia,” he said.
A true network of detectors is needed to pinpoint where the sources of gravitational waves are in the sky: a major detector in Europe, a major detector in the United States, and a major detector in the southern hemisphere.
‘Australia is one of the few places in the world where we can find suitable sites,’ said Professor McClelland.
“It will inspire future generations how astronomy in Australia in the 1990s, in the 1980s, inspired researchers to build the SKA, the Square Kilometer Array.”
The Prime Minister’s Prize for Science was one of seven awards awarded tonight. There are four other science and innovation awards and two science teaching awards.
Full list of winners
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Science ($ 250,000) – Professor Emeritus David Blair, Professor David McClelland, Professor Susan Scott, Professor Peter Veitch for their critical contributions to the first direct detection of gravitational waves on Earth
- Prime Minister’s Innovation Award ($ 250,000) – Professor Thomas Maschmeyer for his work on translating fundamental research into pioneering technologies that can transform waste recycling and renewable energy storage
- Frank Fenner Award for Life Scientist of the Year ($ 50,000) – Professor Mark Dawson for his pioneering research in the field of epigenetics and its impact on human health and disease
- Malcolm McIntosh Award for Physical Scientist of the Year ($ 50,000) – Associate Professor Xiaojing Hao for her research in the field of solar cells made from thin-film materials
- Award for new innovators ($ 50,000) – Associate Professor Justin Chalker for the invention of a new class of polymers
- Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools ($ 50,000) – Sarah Fletcher for her outstanding contribution to the STEM program at Bonython Primary School and educational programs in ACT
- Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching ($ 50,000) – Darren Hamley for his outstanding contributions to science education at Willetton Senior High School and throughout Western Australia.
–ABC
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