Gravitational Wave Searches with LIGO/GEO600/Virgo

The HEP group at Sheffield includes an active experimental gravitational wave research group, consisting of two faculty members, a postdoctoral researcher, and two current Ph.D. students. We are members of the LIGO scientific collaboration, and are active in detector commissioning, detector characterisation and data analysis in connection with the LIGO, Virgo, and GEO600 gravitational wave interferometers. In addition, we have a strong role in the GOTO dedicated gravitational-wave optical follow-up instrument, aiming at detecting optical counterparts to gravitational wave signals. Ph.D. projects in the group include gravitational wave data analysis, particularly fast real-time analysis pipelines and work with the electromagnetic follow-up group within LIGO, and the GOTO optical follow-up project. Advanced LIGO is due to come on-line for first science data in 2015, so this is an exciting time to be involved in gravitational wave interferometery.