Laura Cadonati is a gravitational wave astrophysicist.
She has been a widely-recognized leader in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in the years preparing for and including the discovery of gravitational waves, the most elusive prediction of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity.
Cadonati’s research focuses on the detection, characterization and astrophysical interpretation of short-duration gravitational wave signals that are produced by cataclysmic astrophysical events such as the collisions of black holes or core collapse supernovae.
She received her undergraduate degree in Italy, with a Laurea in Physics at the University of Milano, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton University.
She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, currently Chairs the Division of Gravity of the American Physical Society, she is the Chair of the LIGO Data Analysis Council, and was awarded an NSF Career Award.