Nergis Mavalvala facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nergis Mavalvala
Mavalvala in 2010
Born	1968 (age 56–57) Lahore, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani, American
Known for	Interferometric gravitational waves, quantum measurement
Awards	2013 Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science, MacArthur Fellows
Scientific career
Fields	Astrophysics and Quantum Physics
Institutions	Wellesley College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thesis	Alignment issues in laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors (1997)
Doctoral advisor	Rainer Weiss

Nergis Mavalvala (born in 1968) is a Pakistani-American astrophysicist. She is a top professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she is also the head of the university's School of Science.

Mavalvala is famous for her work on finding gravitational waves. She worked on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project. She also explored and showed how large objects can have quantum effects. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010 for her important work.

Early Life and Education

Nergis Mavalvala was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She grew up mostly in Karachi. She went to the Convent of Jesus and Mary school in Karachi. There, she earned her O-Level and A-Level qualifications.

In 1986, she moved to the United States. She studied at Wellesley College. In 1990, she earned a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy. Then, she joined Rainer Weiss's group at MIT. She earned her PhD in 1997. Mavalvala comes from a Parsi family that follows Zoroastrianism. She was the younger of two children.

Career in Science

As a student at MIT, Nergis Mavalvala worked on her PhD. She developed a test laser tool to find gravitational waves. After her PhD, she worked at the California Institute of Technology. She started as a postdoctoral researcher and then became a research scientist. She first worked on the cosmic microwave background. Later, she focused on the LIGO project.

Mavalvala mainly works in two areas of physics. These are Gravitational Waves Astrophysics and quantum measurement science. She joined the MIT physics faculty in 2002. In 2017, she was chosen to be part of the National Academy of Sciences.

Discovering Gravitational Waves

Mavalvala was part of the science team that first saw ripples in spacetime. These ripples are called gravitational waves. She had been working on gravitational waves since 1991. After the discovery was announced, she became a well-known scientist in Pakistan.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, praised Mavalvala. He said she was an inspiration for Pakistani scientists and students. He also stated that "the entire nation is proud of her valuable contribution." In February 2016, Pakistan's Ambassador to the U.S. congratulated her. He invited her to visit Pakistan again, and she accepted.

Cooling with Lasers

Cooling mirrors with lasers to almost absolute zero helps a lot. It can remove measurement noise from tiny vibrations. Part of Mavalvala's work focused on using laser-cooling methods. She worked to cool and hold larger and larger objects. This was for the LIGO project and other uses. It helps to see quantum effects in large objects.

Her group achieved important results in this area. They cooled an object the size of a centimeter to 0.8 kelvin. They also saw a 2.7-kilogram pendulum near its quantum ground state. These experiments help set the stage for seeing quantum behavior in human-sized objects.

Quantum Light States

Mavalvala has also worked on creating special quantum states of light. She focused on making light in "squeezed coherent states." By putting these states into the LIGO detectors, her team made the detector much more sensitive. This reduced quantum noise. These squeezed states are also useful in many other physics experiments. Her group was the first to create squeezed light using optomechanics at room temperature. Before this, all other sources needed very low temperatures.

Personal Life and Role Model

Nergis Mavalvala often talks about her background as a Pakistani immigrant. She is frequently asked how she succeeded in science. In an interview, Mavalvala said, "I grew up in a family where the stereotypical gender roles were not really observed. So I grew up thinking women can, must and should do anything and everything. That is very important for me."

She also talks about how people in Pakistan can break old gender roles. She believes anyone should be able to follow their dreams. Mavalvala is seen as a role model for young female scientists from the Indian subcontinent. As a child, she often did hands-on work. She was not limited by typical gender roles in her culture.

Mavalvala says her success comes from good mentors in both the U.S. and Pakistan. These mentors encouraged her academic skills. In a 2016 TV interview, Mavalvala stated, "When everyone has access to education that's when all the other things come into place... People should just do what they enjoy most. For all of society, whether it's in Pakistan or elsewhere, we have to create opportunities for young girls to do what they're good at and do what they love to do."

Mavalvala and her partner have two children. They live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. Mavalvala has family in Karachi and visited the city in 2010.

Awards and Recognition

• 2022, Wellesley’s 2022 Commencement Speaker
• 2017, Mavalvala won the first Lahore Technology Award from Information Technology University
• 2017, the Carnegie Corporation of New York honored Mavalvala as one of its Great Immigrants award winners. These awards go to "naturalized citizens who have made notable contributions to the progress of American society."
• 2016, co-recipient Gruber Prize in Cosmology
• 2016, co-recipient Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, as part of the LIGO team
• 2014, NOGLSTP recognized Mavalvala as the Scientist of the Year.
• 2014, Optica Fellow
• 2013, Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science by the American Physical Society
• 2010, MacArthur Fellow
• 2010, American Physical Society Fellow
• 2007, Edgerton award for faculty achievement at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 2005, Sloan Research Fellowship
• 1990, Phyllis Fleming Award for Excellence in Physics

See also

In Spanish: Nergis Mavalvala para niños