Manuela Campanelli
Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics
Manuela Campanelli
Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics
Education
Ph.D. in Physics, University of Bern (Switzerland)
Bio
Dr. Manuela Campanelli is the distinguished professor of astrophysics and John Vouros endowed professor at RIT. She is also the founding director of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation (CCRG).
She is known for her renowned work on the astrophysics of black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves. Her 2005's breakthrough work on the first successful numerical simulations of binary black hole mergers was recently highlighted by the APS as one of the landmarks of the century on the subject of general relativity, starting with a contribution from Einstein himself; in 2007, she became known for her discovery that after black holes merge to form a new, larger black hole, the newly formed black hole can recoil at thousands of kilometers a second; fast enough to eject a supermassive black hole from even the largest galaxies. More recently, she leads groundbreaking research projects that are providing the first calculations of matter effects close to merging binary supermassive black holes, including their characteristic electromagnetic emission. She is also working on modeling binary neutron stars (and potentially of black-hole/neutron stars) with the goal of providing an understanding of recent and future multi-messenger astrophysics observations of these systems. She is a member of the Ligo Scientific Collaboration.
Dr. Campanelli’s research include numerous publications, invited presentations, and funded research projects:
List of Awards, Fellowships, Honorable Mentions and Notable Professional Appointments:
- Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, European Commission, 1998;
- Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), 2009;
- Chair of the Topical Group in Gravitation of the APS, 2013;
- Trustee Scholarship Award, 2014;
- Fellow of the International Society of General Relativity (ISGR), 2019;
- Mention in the Nobel Lecture in Physics 2017 (by Kip Thorne).
- Distinguished Professor, 2020.
- Counsilor of the Division of Gravitational Physics, 2021.
- Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics and John Vouros Endowed Professor 2024
- 2024 Richard Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science by the American Physical Society.
Other Links:
Currently Teaching
In the News
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August 28, 2024
![RIT professor Manuela Campanelli introduces the rest of the team from RIT that worked on simulations and methods to detect gravitational waves.]()
RIT astrophysicist named one of world's most influential female scientists
Democrat and Chronicle highlights the accomplishments of Manuela Campanelli, Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. (This content will require a subscription to view.)
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February 19, 2024
![computer simulation depicting two black holes orbiting each other in a magnetized gas cloud, moments before merging]()
Researchers exploring black hole mergers with $1.8 million NASA award
KIFI-TV talks to Manuela Campanelli, Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics and founding director of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, about being part of a team that will explore the physics of supermassive black hole mergers and galaxy collisions.
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February 9, 2024
![a headshot of Manuela Campanelli with a chalkboard in the background]()
Campanelli named to John Vouros Endowed Professorship
Manuela Campanelli, Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics and founding director of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, has been appointed the John Vouros Endowed Professor.
