Three outstanding faculty members at West Virginia University have been selected as the 2023-24 Benedum Distinguished Scholars in recognition of their exceptional research and scholarly activity.
Dr. Sarah Burke-Spolaor, associate professor in the WVU Department of Physics and Astronomy and member of the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, was named as one of the newest honorees.
While the very first detection of gravitational radiation occurred in 2015, a different, longer gravitational wavelength is needed to locate black holes. Burke-Spolaor is a leading member of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), which uses a network of stars called “pulsars” distributed throughout our galaxy to detect small ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by the distant gravitational waves of SBHBs. Burke-Spolaor’s research in the field of low-frequency gravitational wave astrophysics has laid the foundation for the next generation of progress in pulsar timing array science and is paving the road to find the first SBHB in the near future.
Each Benedum Distinguished Scholar will receive a $5,000 professional development honorarium. The scholars will be recognized during a faculty and staff awards reception at Blaney House in April and will be featured in next year’s Benedum Distinguished Scholars Showcase.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy leads the university with number of Benedum Distinguished Scholar Awards with 12 honorees total.
Congratulations to Dr. Burke-Spolaor!
hal/04/10/24
Contact: Holly Legleiter
hlegleiter@mail.wvu.edu