Barry Barish
Barry Barish is an American experimental physicist and Caltech professor emeritus who led the construction of LIGO from 1994 and created the LIGO Scientific Collaboration; he shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics with Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.
Contents25 sections
Key facts
January 27, 1936Born in Omaha
Barish was born on January 27, 1936, in Omaha, Nebraska.[1]
His parents were Jewish immigrants from a part of Poland that is now in Belarus.[2]
Shortly after World War II the family moved to Los Feliz in Los Angeles, where he attended Micheltorena Elementary, Thomas Starr King Middle School and John Marshall High School.[3]
1957–1962Degrees from UC Berkeley
He received a bachelor’s degree in physics and a Ph.D. in experimental particle physics from UC BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is a campus of the University of California system; the University of California was founded in 1868 through a merger of two institutions and moved to Berkeley, California, in 1873.Open the full entry in 1957 and 1962.[4]
1963–1991Career at Caltech
He was a research fellow at Caltech from 1963, became an assistant professor in 1966, an associate professor in 1969 and a professor in 1972, and was named Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor of Physics in 1991.[5]
As a young Caltech professor, he, together with his colleague Frank Sciulli, initiated and built the neutrino physics program at Fermilab.[6]
His high-energy neutrino experiments at Fermilab revealed the quark substructure of the nucleon.[7]
1984Proposes the MACRO Experiment
In 1984 he proposed an underground experiment to search for magnetic monopoles, which became MACRO beneath the Gran Sasso mountains in Italy.[6]
He was one of MACRO’s leaders; the collaboration set the strictest limits on magnetic monopoles and found key evidence that neutrinos have mass.[2]
Early 1990sLeads GEM Detector Design
In the early 1990s he co-led the design team for GEM, one of the two large detectors planned for the Superconducting Super Collider; Congress canceled the accelerator in 1993.[2]
1994Becomes LIGO Principal Investigator
He became principal investigator of LIGO in 1994 and was named director in 1997.[8]
Recruited by Caltech and MIT as LIGO’s second director, he oversaw construction of the two observatories from 1994 to 1999 and secured funding through the National Science Board.[1]
1997Creates the LIGO Scientific Collaboration
In 1997 he promoted the founding of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC).[9]
1999–2005Initial LIGO Interferometers
From 1999 to 2005 he oversaw installation and commissioning of the Initial LIGO interferometers and, with deputy director Gary Sanders, led the development and approval of Advanced LIGO.[1]
2002Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
In 2002 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and received the Klopsteg Award of the American Association of Physics Teachers.[7]
In 2005 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[10]
2003–2010Serves on the National Science Board
From 2003 to 2010 he served on the National Science Board as a presidential appointee of George W. Bush.[7]
2005Directs the ILC Global Design Effort
On March 18, 2005, at the Linear Collider Workshop in Palo Alto, Jonathan Dorfan, chair of the International Committee for Future Accelerators, offered him the leadership of the Global Design Effort (GDE) for the International Linear Collider; he accepted on the spot and said he would use the distributed organizational approach of an experimental collaboration.[11]
He directed the GDE from 2005 to 2013.[12]
September 2008Elected APS Vice President
In September 2008 members of the American Physical Society (APS) elected him vice president, taking office in January 2009, with a term as president-elect in 2010 and as president in 2011.[13]
February 2016LIGO Announces First Detection of Gravitational Waves
Advanced LIGO first detected gravitational waves on September 14, 2015.[14]
In February 2016 researchers announced the detection: the signal came from the merger of two black holes of about 30 solar masses each, some 1.3 billion light-years away, and reached the Livingston and Hanford observatories in turn.[15]
2017Henry Draper Medal and Princess of Asturias Award
In 2017 the National Academy of Sciences awarded him and Stan Whitcomb the Henry Draper Medal for leading the team that built LIGO; the medal is awarded every four years with a prize of $25,000.[16]
That year he shared the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research with Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.[9]
October 3, 2017Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
On October 3, 2017, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barish and Kip Thorne; the prize was worth SEK 9 million.[8]
He has called LIGO his most rewarding project.[4]
December 2017Receives the Prize in Stockholm
The three laureates gave their Nobel lectures on December 8, 2017, and received the prize at the award ceremony in Stockholm on December 10.[17]
2018Joins UC Riverside
In 2018 he joined the UC Riverside faculty as a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy.[18]
April 2019Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society
In April 2019 he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society.[14]
August 23, 2021Appears on the Lex Fridman Podcast
On August 23, 2021, he appeared as the guest of episode 213 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, discussing Enrico Fermi, the birth of the nuclear age, gravity and general relativity, detecting gravitational waves, LIGO, the Nobel Prize, black holes and space exploration.[19]
May 2022Los Angeles Square Named After Him
On May 3, 2022, the intersection next to his alma mater John Marshall High School was dedicated as Dr. Barry Barish Square.[3]
September 2022Appointed to Stony Brook Chair
On September 6, 2022, Stony Brook University announced his appointment as its inaugural President’s Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics, starting in the fall 2023 semester, to teach graduate students and guide the university’s participation in gravitational-wave astronomy.[12]
October 24, 2023Receives the National Medal of Science
On October 24, 2023, President Joe Biden presented him with the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony.[18]
The medal recognizes his exemplary service to science, including groundbreaking research on sub-atomic particles and his leadership of LIGO, which made the first detection of gravitational waves from merging black holes.[20]
As of October 2026: Current Positions
He holds the President’s Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics at Stony Brook University and is Linde Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at Caltech.[21]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Caltech: Official website: https://www.caltech.edu/ (opens in a new window)[5]
LIGO: Official website: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/ (opens in a new window)[19]
UC Riverside: Official website: https://www.ucr.edu/ (opens in a new window)[18]
Stony Brook University: Official website: https://www.stonybrook.edu/ (opens in a new window)[21]
Sources
- Caltech Scientists Awarded 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics (opens in a new window)
- Barry C. Barish, Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist, to Receive Honorary Doctorate From SMU During 103rd Commencement, May 19 (opens in a new window)
- Los Feliz intersection dedicated for Nobel-winning physicist Barry Barish (opens in a new window)
- Berkeley alum Barry Barish awarded 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics (opens in a new window)
- Barry C. Barish (opens in a new window)
- Laudatio of Professor Dr. Barry Clark Barish (opens in a new window)
- Barry C Barish (opens in a new window)
- Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne win 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics (opens in a new window)
- Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne, Barry C. Barish and and LIGO Scientific Collaboration - Fundación Princesa de Asturias (opens in a new window)
- Barry Clark Barish | American Academy of Arts and Sciences (opens in a new window)
- Barry Barish: building a global design effort (opens in a new window)
- Nobel Laureate Barry Barish Appointed Stony Brook University President's Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics (opens in a new window)
- Barry Barish elected next APS Vice President (opens in a new window)
- Physicist Barry Barish elected foreign member of the Royal Society (opens in a new window)
- Gravitational waves are detected for first time (opens in a new window)
- National Academy of Sciences Honors LIGO Researchers (opens in a new window)
- Nobel Prize Week (opens in a new window)
- UCR physicist awarded National Medal of Science (opens in a new window)
- #213 - Barry Barish: Gravitational Waves and the Most Precise Device Ever Built | Lex Fridman Podcast (opens in a new window)
- Barry C. Barish - National Science and Technology Medals Foundation (opens in a new window)
- Barry Barish (opens in a new window)