Anna I. McPherson Lecture: “Gravitational-Wave Astronomy: The Sounds of Silence from the Dark Universe”

Since the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015, over 300 signals have been recorded, including the landmark event from a binary neutron star merger, which was observed in both gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation worldwide. In this talk, Alessandra Buonanno will explain how these silent signals have opened a new window into the most extreme environments in the universe, revealing the nature of black holes and neutron stars, and testing Einstein’s theory of general relativity with unprecedented precision in the strong-field and highly dynamical regime. She will also look ahead to the future of gravitational wave astronomy, and the transformative discoveries that next-generation observatories—on Earth and in space—will bring.