Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover receives €168,000 from the Volkswagen Foundation for laser research
In Hannover, the past few years have seen the development and construction of a highly stable laser that will constitute the heart of Advanced LIGO. The American Advanced LIGO detectors are the new generation of gravitational wave observatories which are set to go into operation from 2014. The detectors were and continue to be developed by scientists of the German-British GEO project who play a leading role here. Laser research will continue to be funded from the “VW Vorab” initiative from 2006 - 2011 with 3 million euros. The sum of 168,000 euros from the “Niedersachsen Vorab” funding initiative, which is currently to go to the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Sub-Institute Hannover, and the Institute for Gravitational Physics at Leibniz Universität Hannover, will serve to help complete ongoing research work. From February 2011, the lasers will subsequently be installed in the AdLIGO detectors in Louisiana and Washington / USA.