Peter Shawhan Explained

Peter Shawhan
Alma Mater:	Washington University in St. Louis University of Chicago
Fields:	Physics Gravitational waves
Nationality:	American
Workplaces:	Caltech University of Maryland, College Park
Doctoral Advisor:	Bruce Winstein
Awards:	Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016) Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016) Bruno Rossi Prize (2017) Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research (2017) Fellow, American Physical Society

Peter Shawhan is an American physicist. He is currently professor of physics at the University of Maryland and was a co-recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the Gruber Prize in Cosmology, and the Bruno Rossi Prize for his work on LIGO.

Biography

Shawhan received his bachelor's degree in physics in 1990 summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was an Arthur Holly Compton Fellow in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics. He was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in 1999 under the supervision of Bruce Winstein.^[1] He was then a Millikan Prize Postdoctoral Fellow and a senior scientist at Caltech before becoming professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park.^[2]

He works on LIGO and is chair of the division of gravitational physics of the American Physical Society.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Awards

• Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)^{[6] [7]}
• Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
• Bruno Rossi Prize (2017)
• Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research
• Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize, University of Maryland (2018)^[8]
• Fellow, American Physical Society (2019)^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: NASAPeople. nasapeople.nasa.gov. 27 July 2017 . 2019-12-28.
2. Web site: Curriculum Vitae. Shawhan. Peter. University of Maryland, College Park.
3. Web site: The rise of LIGO's space-studying super-team. Rummler. Troy. symmetry magazine. 27 June 2017 . en. 2019-12-28.
4. Web site: How 3 Senior Physicists Crowdsourced Their Way To A Nobel Prize. Melendez. Steven. 2017-10-04. Fast Company. en-US. 2019-12-28.
5. Web site: Peter Shawhan Honored by USM Board of Regents - UMD Physics. umdphysics.umd.edu. 2019-12-28.
6. Web site: Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded for Detection of Gravitational Waves - UMD Physics. www.umdphysics.umd.edu. 2019-12-28.
7. Web site: Breakthrough Prize – Special Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics Awarded For Detection Of Gravitational Waves 100 Years After Albert Einstein Predicted Their Existence. breakthroughprize.org. 2019-12-28.
8. Web site: Physics Professor Peter Shawhan Awarded 2018 Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize. zying. 2018-09-13. College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. en. 2019-12-28.
9. Web site: Alum Peter Shawhan Elected APS Fellow. 2019-09-27. Department of Physics. en. 2019-12-28.