News
Astrophysical Sciences and Technology MS

For the first time, scientists detected gravitational waves caused by mergers between black holes and neutron stars. Researchers from RIT’s Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation (CCRG) helped identify key characteristics about the merger events.

Led by principal investigator Michael Zemcov, an assistant professor in RIT’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Detectors, the experiment aims to better understand extragalactic background light, which traces the history of galaxies back to the formation of the first stars in the universe.

RIT students Emily Wilson and Teresa Symons are co-recipients of the Outstanding Graduate Woman Achievement Award for their dedication and leadership on RIT’s Graduate Student Advisory Council. Wilson and Symons are Ph.D. students in the astrophysical sciences and technology program in the School of Physics and Astronomy and co-chairs of the Graduate Student Advisory Council.

Undergraduates aren’t the only students taking advantage of RIT’s co-op and internship program. Across the university, Ph.D. students are securing prestigious work experiences to provide important gateways to careers in industry, foundations, and government.

WROC-TV interviews Michael Richmond, professor of physics and astronomy, about NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

Forbes features work by Joel Kastner, professor in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and program faculty in the astrophysical sciences and technology graduate program, in its 10 most important Hubble photos from 2020.

Images of two iconic planetary nebulae taken by the Hubble Space Telescope are revealing new information about how they develop their dramatic features. Researchers from RIT and Green Bank Observatory presented new findings about the Butterfly Nebula and the Jewel Bug Nebula at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on Friday, Jan. 15.

Several School of Physics and Astronomy faculty secured large grants as principal investigators during a banner summer.

While the scientific community grapples with the loss of the Arecibo radio telescope, astronomers who recently revived a long-dormant radio telescope array in Argentina hope it can help modestly compensate for the work Arecibo did in pulsar timing.

RIT will celebrate graduate research during the 13th annual Graduate Education Week and Showcase: A Vision into the Future. The virtual event—Nov. 16 to 20—creates a platform for sharing and exchanging ideas during the COVID-19 pandemic, with pre-recorded and live presentations, demonstrations, visual exhibitions, and an alumni panel discussion.

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration released a catalog of results from the first half of its third observing run (O3a), and scientists have detected more than three times as many gravitational waves than the first two runs combined. Several researchers from RIT’s Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation were heavily involved in analyzing the gravitational waves and understanding their significance.

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration recently announced the discovery of GW190521, the most massive gravitational wave binary observed to date, and Rochester Institute of Technology scientists played an important role in identifying and analyzing the event.