KARACHI: The euphoria in Pakistan over a scientific breakthrough hypothesised by Albert Einstein a century ago has come as a big surprise to Professor Nergis Mavalvala, the expat Karachi-born MIT professor who assisted a team of scientists in the historic detection of gravitational waves.
“I am baffled by how much interest there is in this — can you tell me what’s behind it?” she asks during a phone interview with Dawn.
Dr Mavalvala is referring to the viral jubilation across social media back in the country where she was born and raised, where scores are celebrating her efforts as a member of the US-based LIGO Scientific Collaboration at the helm of this discovery.
Among the hundreds of comments under news articles and Facebook posts, many readers have attributed her success to the various ingredients that characterised her life here: her Pakistani roots, the Parsi community she belongs to and her schooling at Karachi’s Convent of Jesus and Mary.
What is behind the success of a woman who grew up in Pakistan as a member of a minority community with the unconventional dream of being a physicist?
But what really is behind the success of a woman who grew up in Pakistan as
Early Life and Family Background
Nergis Mavalvala was born in Karachi, Pakistan, into a Zoroastrian family that valued education and intellectual curiosity. Her parents encouraged her love of science from an early age, allowing her the freedom to explore her interests in mathematics and physics. Nergis attended Karachi Grammar School before moving to the United States to pursue higher education, marking the beginning of a career that would see her become one of the most prominent astrophysicists of her time.
Education and Early Career
After completing her high school education, Nergis Mavalvala moved to the U.S. to study at Wellesley College, where she earned a bachelor&#;s degree in physics and astronomy. She later pursued a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), focusing on physics and quantum mechanics. Her early work demonstrated her brilliance in experimental physics, setting the stage for her future contributions to astrophysics.
Pioneering Work with Gravitational Waves
Nergis Mavalvala’s most notable achievement is her work with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), where she contributed significantly to the det
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Mavalvala is a key member is the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration. She began by developing a tabletop prototype of LIGO as a proof-of-concept, and contributed to both the design and creation of the detector. Mavalvala is an expert in precision measurement, required to measure the incredibly small perturbations caused in the interferometer by gravitational waves, and mainly works in the field of quantum optics. Laser-cooling techniques are used to optically cool and trap the massive interferometer pendulum mirrors, and has enabled observations of quantum phenomena in macroscopic objects. Mavalvala also works on the development of squeezed coherent states of light, which are injected into the LIGO detector to reduce quantum noise. Not only does Mavalvala's work allow for progress at LIGO, but is also pushing the bounds of experimental physics in many diverse applications.
Researcher's background:
Mavalvala was born and raised in Pakistan, and moved to the United Stat
Notable alumni of
California Institute of Technology
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California Institute of Technology is th in the world, 70th in North America, and 67th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of notable alumni from California Institute of Technology sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. 19 individuals affiliated with California Institute of Technology won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine.
Howard Hughes
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Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist and aircraft pilot. He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-c
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