LIGO physicist will speak at Press Club on Sept. 12

LSU Physics Professor Joe Giaime, director of the LIGO Livingston Observatory in Louisiana, will be the guest speaker at the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday, Sept. 12. He will recount the inside story of this remarkable discovery, hailed by many as the scientific breakthrough of the century. He will discuss the amazing technology behind the LIGO detectors, which can measure the signatures of spacetime ripples less than a million millionth the width of a human hair. He also will explore the future for gravitational-wave astronomy as a new window on the universe. Press Club meets on Mondays at the Belle of Baton Rouge Hotel, which is located at 102 France St., in the East and West Baton Rouge Room. Parking is free in the garage off Mayflower Street. Lunch, which is served at 11:30 a.m., is $13 for members and $17 for nonmembers. The public is invited, but only members of the Press Club and the news media are allowed to ask questions during the question-and-answer portion of the program.