Laguna elected to Mexican National Academy of Sciences

Pablo Laguna, Penn State professor of astronomy and astrophysics and of physics, has been elected to the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, a nonprofit organization that aims to disseminate scientific knowledge, foster discussion and respectful debate around scientific issues, and promote public recognition of the work conducted by Mexican scientists. Laguna is one of four international members selected during 2007 to join the organization's more than 1,800 distinguished scientists.

Laguna's research focuses on numerical relativity, the formulation of Einstein's field equations that can be analyzed numerically using supercomputer technology. He studies cosmological and astrophysical systems in which the effects of general relativity play a fundamental role, and he currently is focusing on numerical simulation of the coalescence of two black holes. The collision of black holes is a central problem in general relativity that exposes the complex, nonlinear nature of Einstein's field equations. An accurate and complete solution of this problem will bring general relativity into harmony with the observations of gravitational radiation that are expected to take place in the near future with new observatories.
 

Last Updated March 19, 2009