The Simons Foundation has awarded $8 million to launch the Simons Collaboration on Black Holes and Strong Gravity, bringing together 12 leading scientists from across the globe, including Illinois Physics professor and Astronomy affiliate professor Nicolás Yunes, who will direct the effort. This multidisciplinary network of physicists, mathematicians, and data scientists will tackle some of the universe’s deepest mysteries by developing the theoretical tools to interpret rapidly advancing gravitational wave data.
With new upgrades set to increase detectors' sensitivity, like LIGO and Virgo dramatically, researchers are entering the “precision era” of gravitational wave science. The collaboration will use advanced models, simulations, and AI-driven analysis to uncover the hidden signatures of black hole mergers and strong gravity, potentially shedding light on dark matter, the matter–antimatter imbalance, and even physics beyond Einstein’s theory of relativity.