CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title> News | Fred Raab Receives 2025 Isaacson Award in GW Science from APS | LIGO Lab | Caltech </title> <meta content='text/html; charset=utf-8' http-equiv='Content-Type'> <meta content='IE=edge,chrome=1' http-equiv='X-UA-Compatible'> <meta content='width=device-width,initial-scale=1' name='viewport'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-57x57-78f4f4b87ac8ed844b6956a7674c7917.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='57x57'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-60x60-baeef6b0ff7698cde542ab23bfd1ac2e.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='60x60'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-72x72-afca3f570bb63d57879adf790092c142.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='72x72'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-76x76-83a240ca1213d07596638e2a88fb2ee0.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='76x76'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-114x114-448275f006a71b347beb5ebcf39ea7c6.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='114x114'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-120x120-c755d8111e0c6a637b20bb11746916d7.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='120x120'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-144x144-9411a2cca9812c2d8a93b2107d6bbb4f.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='144x144'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-152x152-54b1bcb657527af0ad2609696784139c.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='152x152'> <link href='/assets/favicon/apple-icon-180x180-568cddf25b1a49a216aa605077b21080.png' rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='180x180'> <link href='/assets/favicon/android-icon-192x192-e7c2dc95a016d6eec9f1445176be076e.png' rel='icon' sizes='192x192' type='image/png'> <link href='/assets/favicon/favicon-32x32-e848538e81000c6ab1f14dfd377f21d7.png' rel='icon' sizes='32x32' type='image/png'> <link href='/assets/favicon/favicon-96x96-d2b6879752189dc947edd4ea59d46c34.png' rel='icon' sizes='96x96' type='image/png'> <link href='/assets/favicon/favicon-16x16-1801d16e258b8a8210ead9b42899ac2d.png' rel='icon' sizes='16x16' type='image/png'> <link href='/manifest.json' rel='manifest'> <meta content='#ffffff' name='msapplication-TileColor'> <meta content='/assets/favicon/ms-icon-144x144-9411a2cca9812c2d8a93b2107d6bbb4f.png' name='msapplication-TileImage'> <meta content='#ffffff' name='theme-color'> <meta content='LIGO Lab | Caltech' property='og:site_name'> <meta content='Fred Raab Receives 2025 Isaacson Award in GW Science from APS' property='og:title'> <meta content='Fred Raab Receives 2025 Isaacson Award in GW Science from APS' name='title'> <meta content='https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/news_items/images/220/page/20160211_GW150914_press_conference_check.jpg?1729105249' property='og:image'> <meta content='https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/news_items/images/220/page/20160211_GW150914_press_conference_check.jpg?1729105249' name='image'> <meta content='https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20241016' property='og:url'> <meta content='article' property='og:type'> <meta content='Former LHO Head, Fred Raab is the recipient of the 2025 Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science from the American Physical Society (APS)' name='description'> <meta content='Former LHO Head, Fred Raab is the recipient of the 2025 Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science from the American Physical Society (APS)' property='og:description'> <link href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:300italic,400italic,700italic,400,300,700|Play" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/assets/application-07bcd3ad523a6fa1ea1cfa6e8ee24e1c.css" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <meta content="authenticity_token" name="csrf-param" /> <meta content="wl6YHidgcjwCJbvUivOOLBP1y1jSvpjYlRhDqsFwsYk=" name="csrf-token" /> </head> <body class='site_color_purple'> <div class='flash_messages'> </div> <div class='ligo_bar'> <div class='container'> <div class='row'> <div class='span3'> <a href="/" class="current_partner">LIGO Caltech</a> </div> <div class='span6'> <div class='right other_ligo'> <a href="/WA">Hanford Observatory</a> <span> | </span> <a href="/LA">Livingston Observatory</a> <span> | </span> <a href="/MIT">LIGO MIT</a> </div> </div> <div class='span3'> <div class='input-prepend search_box'> <span class='add-on'> <i class='fa fa-search'></i> </span> <form accept-charset="UTF-8" action="/search" method="post"><div style="margin:0;padding:0;display:inline"><input name="utf8" type="hidden" value="✓" /><input name="authenticity_token" type="hidden" value="wl6YHidgcjwCJbvUivOOLBP1y1jSvpjYlRhDqsFwsYk=" /></div><input name='q' placeholder='Search LIGO Lab' type='text'> </form> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class='header'> <div class='container'> <div class='row'> <div class='span12'> <div class='site_name'> <a href="/"><div class='signals left'> <img alt="Ligo_signals" src="/assets/ligo_signals-c600800835440c1e3722874dc29012d2.png" /> </div> <div class='acronym left'> LIGO </div> <div class='full_text left'> Laser Interferometer <br> Gravitational-Wave Observatory <div class='site_tag'> Supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation </div> <div class='site_tag'> Operated by Caltech and MIT </div> </div> </a><div class='clear'></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class='navigation'> <div class='container'> <div class='row'> <div class='span12'> <a href="/page/about" class="">About</a> <a href="/page/learn-more" class="">Learn More</a> <a href="/news" class="active">News</a> <a href="/gallery" class="">Gallery</a> <a href="/page/educational-resources" class="">Educational Resources</a> <a href="/page/scientists" class="">For Scientists</a> <a href="/page/study-work" class="">Study & Careers</a> <div class='clearfix'></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class='content'> <div class='container'> <div class='row'> <div class='page'> <div class='span8'> <div class='panel'> <div class='main_image'> <img alt="20160211_gw150914_press_conference_check" class="image" src="/system/news_items/images/220/page/20160211_GW150914_press_conference_check.jpg?1729105249" /> <p class='caption'> Dr. Fred Raab at the LHO Press Conference on February 11, 2016, the day LIGO announced to the world that it had detected gravitational waves for the first time in history. </p> </div> <h1> Fred Raab Receives 2025 Isaacson Award in GW Science from APS </h1> <p> <strong> News Release • October 16, 2024 </strong> </p> <div class='raw'> <p align="justify">LIGO is proud to announce that former LIGO Hanford Observatory (LHO) head, Dr. Fred Raab, has received the <a href="https://www.aps.org/funding-recognition/award/isaacson" target="_blank">Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science</a> from the American Physical Society (APS), which recognizes outstanding contributions in gravitational-wave physics, gravitational-wave astrophysics, and the technologies that enable this science. This award has been made possible through the generous support of Kip S. Thorne and Rainer Weiss. It honors the contributions of Richard Isaacson, retired Program Director of Gravitational Physics at the National Science Foundation, to the development of LIGO and to the entire field of gravitational-wave physics.</p> <p align="justify">Dr. Raab was bestowed the 2025 award "<em>[f]or many seminal contributions to gravitational-wave science, including co-leading the LIGO construction proposal, achieving unprecedented strain sensitivities on the 40m prototype interferometer [at Caltech], skillful leading of the LIGO Hanford Observatory from its genesis through the era of the first detections, and passionate outreach to the scientific community and the public</em>".</p> <p align="justify">He will officially receive the award at the spring 2025 APS April Meeting, where he will also give an invited talk.</p> <p align="justify">In response, Raab said, "[i]t is a privilege to receive this recognition from colleagues and to have been part of the growth of this new field. When I joined Caltech in 1988, all of the people working on gravitational-wave detection worldwide would have fit in a large classroom. Today, gravitational-wave astronomy has become mainstream science, with several thousand contributors across the globe."</p> <p align="justify">David Reitze, current LIGO Executive Director, applauded the APS decision, saying that "Fred is perhaps the leading unsung giant in the field of gravitational waves, and his contributions have played critical roles in so many aspects of LIGO. He is most deserving of the Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science."</p> <p> </p> <div class="image_container center"><a alt="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 1" href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/media_files/binaries/785/original/Fred_Isaacson_award_collage_1.png?1729124388" title="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 1"><img alt="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 1" height="323" src="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/media_files/binaries/785/large/Fred_Isaacson_award_collage_1.png?1729124388" title="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 1" width="700" /></a></div> <p> </p> <p align="justify">Long-time colleague and former LIGO Chief Scientist, Stan Whitcomb, echoed Reitze's accolades:</p> <p><span style="padding-left: 20px; display:block">"Fred Raab has been a key part of the gravitational wave detection community from its early years. He has made major technical contributions to the effort to detect gravitational waves with LIGO, has been a leader in developing both the physical and the human capability to achieve this task, and served the scientific and broader communities with passion and distinction. Few people have had as broad an impact on the field of gravitational waves as Fred."</span></p> <p align="justify">And current LHO Head, Mike Landry, excitedly congratulated Raab on this well-deserved recognition, stating, "Fred has spent 35 years searching for gravitational waves, toiling to make three generations of interferometric detectors progressively more sensitive, until finally making first detections of gravitational waves from black hole collisions in 2015. The breadth of his contributions to launching the field are astonishing."</p> <p align="justify">Stretching far beyond his scientific contributions, Raab has also impacted thousands of people outside of the scientific community by being a tireless ambassador for LIGO and outreach advocate, speaking to students of all ages, and members of the public around the world. Fred continues to show this commitment by frequently being a tour guide during <a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/WA/page/lho-public-tours" target="_blank">LHO's Second Saturday tour days</a>. So long-standing is Fred's passion for outreach that LHO created a special staff award in Fred's name: the <em>LIGO Fred Raab Excellence in Outreach Award</em>.</p> <p align="justify">Everyone at LIGO congratulates Fred on this well-deserved recognition!</p> <p> </p> <div class="image_container center"><a alt="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 2" href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/media_files/binaries/786/original/Fred_Isaacson_award_collage_2.png?1729124415" title="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 2"><img alt="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 2" height="428" src="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/system/media_files/binaries/786/large/Fred_Isaacson_award_collage_2.png?1729124415" title="Fred Isaacson Award Collage 2" width="700" /></a> <p class="caption"><strong style="font-size:80%;">Clockwise from top left: Fred, back in the day, leading a public tour of LHO. Posing with students in India. Visiting the LIGO Livingston Science Education Center. Manning a LIGO booth at a <a href="https://www.sacnas.org/" target="_blank">SACNAS</a> conference. Conducting a fun interactive activity at a public science event in Pasco WA. Checking one of the exhibits at the brand-new LIGO Exploration Center, LExC, at LHO.</strong></p> </div> <hr /> <p><sub><em>By Kimberly M. Burtnyk</em></sub></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class='span4'> <div class='panel dark_color related_media'> <ul class='related_media_navigation'> <li class='heading'> Related News </li> <li class='active'> <a href="/news/ligo20241016"><img alt="20160211_gw150914_press_conference_check" src="/system/news_items/images/220/thumb/20160211_GW150914_press_conference_check.jpg?1729105249" /> <h4> Fred Raab Receives 2025 Isaacson Award in GW Science from APS </h4> <p> News Release </p> <div class='clear'></div> </a></li> <div class='clear'></div> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class='footer panel primary_color_light'> <div class='container'> <div class='row'> <div class='span6'> <div class='row'> <div class='span6'> <h6> <a href="/page/contact">Contact LIGO Caltech</a> </h6> <div class='location_details'> <p> LIGO Laboratory <br> MC 100-36 <br> California Institute of Technology <br> Pasadena, CA 91125 </p> </div> <h6> Information: <a href="tel://6263952129">(626) 395-2129</a> </h6> </div> </div> <p class='policy_links'> <a href="/page/employment">Careers</a> </p> <p> <a href="/page/anti-harassment-statement">Anti-Harassment Policy</a> | <a href="/page/image-use-policy">Image Use Policy</a> | <a href="/page/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a> </p> </div> <div class='span6'> <div class='partner_logos'> <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/" alt="The U.S. National Science Foundation" title="The U.S. National Science Foundation"><img alt="Footer_nsf" src="/assets/logos/footer_nsf-b095d1e913dd555437f6682a15d70afb.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.caltech.edu" alt="California Institute of Technology" title="California Institute of Technology"><img alt="Footer_caltech" src="/assets/logos/footer_caltech-dffffad68d75521d67f82d4d77917573.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.mit.edu/" alt="Massachusetts Institute of Technology" title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology"><img alt="Footer_mit" src="/assets/logos/footer_mit-7e6fffaf2cde13a3af99772740d5df1d.png" /></a> </div> <div class='logo_details'> <p> The LIGO Laboratory is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation award PHY-2309200 and <br> operated jointly by Caltech and MIT. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations <br> expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation. </p> </div> <div class='partner_logos'> <a href="http://www.ligo.org/" alt="LIGO Scientific Collaboration" title="LIGO Scientific Collaboration"><img alt="Footer_lsc" height="48" src="/assets/logos/footer_lsc-f75e18cb88af4537a57f048612242fd5.png" width="80" /></a> <a href="http://www.virgo-gw.eu/" alt="VIRGO Homepage" title="VIRGO Homepage"><img alt="Footer_virgo" height="28" src="/assets/logos/footer_virgo-2668a383d8713db7632150294c630ea7.png" width="153" /></a> </div> <div class='logo_details'> <p> LIGO Laboratory is member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. <br> We observe and publish science with the Virgo Collaboration </p> </div> <div class='logo_details'> <p> <a href="http://ice.ipac.caltech.edu" target="_LIGO_lab">Website designed by IPAC Communications & Education Team</a> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-L3MWB9F2S7" type="text/javascript"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-L3MWB9F2S7'); </script> <script src="/assets/application-ee380013684e1a3491edffdc74bc9484.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </body> </html>