RIP Rainer Weiss (1932-2025)

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Rainer Weiss, a pioneering physicist and Professor Emeritus at MIT, passed away at the age of 92. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 for his significant contributions to the development of the LIGO observatory, which enabled the first detection of gravitational waves. Weiss's work has profoundly advanced our understanding of the universe and the nature of gravitational radiation. His legacy includes numerous publications and lectures that have inspired generations of scientists. The scientific community mourns his loss while celebrating his groundbreaking achievements in astrophysics.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Weiss

https://news.mit.edu/2025/professor-emeritus-rainer-weiss-dies-0826
Professor Emeritus Rainer Weiss, influential physicist who forged new paths to understanding the universe, dies at 92
The longtime MIT professor shared a Nobel Prize for his role in developing the LIGO observatory and detecting gravitational waves.

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20250827
https://www.virgo-gw.eu/news/goodbye-rai-weiss/

https://www.science.org/content/art...er-weiss-inventor-gravitational-wave-detector

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2017/weiss/facts/



(2017) Rainer Weiss, Nobel Prize in Physics 2017: Official interview


(2020) The Sound of Gravity ( MIT School of Science )


(2018) Beyond the Cradle 2018: Rainer Weiss Keynote (MIT Media Lab)
"Exploration of the universe with gravitational waves"


(2016) 2016 Emilio Segré Lecture with Rainer Weiss (UC Berkeley)
&t=5m45s


(2015) “100 Years of Gravitational Waves: The Observation of a Binary Black Hole Collision" (MIT Department of Physics)
&t=3m30s


(2005) "Einstein's Messengers"
https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/video/ligo01032005v

https://physicsworld.com/a/rainer-weiss-50-years-ligo-gravitational-waves/





https://physics.mit.edu/faculty/rainer-weiss/

https://inspirehep.net/authors/983838
journals.aps.org (author:Rainer+Weiss)


(1980) "Measurements of the cosmic background radiation"
Weiss, R.
Annual review of astronomy and astrophysics. Volume 18. (A81-20334 07-90) Palo Alto, Calif., Annual Reviews, Inc., 1980, p. 489-535.
https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1980ARA&A..18..489W

(1999) "Gravitational radiation"
Rainer Weiss
Rev. Mod. Phys. 71, S187 – Published 1 March, 1999
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.71.S187

(1979) "Gravitational radiation: the status of the experiments and prospects for the future"
R. Weiss(MIT) (1979)
from
Workshop on Sources of Gravitational Radiation
24 July-4 August 1978. Seattle, WA, United States • Batelle Seattle Research Center (C78-07-24.3)
https://inspirehep.net/conferences/1282515

Research reports:
(1972) "Gravitation research" (Quarterly progress report, 1972)
R Weiss, DJ Muehlner, RL Benford, DK Owens… - 1972 - ntrs.nasa.gov

(1954) "Atomic Beam Research" (Zacharias, 1954)
C. HYPERFINE STRUCTURE ANOMALIES IN CESIUM RADIOISOTOPES
https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/51228/RLE_QPR_035_VIII.pdf?sequence=1


https://www.mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=100525
https://academictree.org/physics/tree.php?pid=227571




"About Teaching General Relativity: history, motivation, experiment"
AAPT Topical Workshop on Teaching General Relativity to Undergraduates
(Syracuse University, July 21, 2006)
https://www.aapt.org/doorway/TGRU/articles/Weiss-talk.pdf
from https://www.aapt.org/doorway/TGRU/

He gave one of the last talks at this conference (at my grad school) but I don't remember meeting him.
 
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