Rainer Weiss

Rainer "Rai" Weiss (/waɪs/ WYSSE, German: [vaɪs];

born September 29, 1932) is a German-born American Rainer Weiss
physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational
physics and astrophysics. He is a professor of physics
emeritus at MIT and an adjunct professor at LSU. He
is best known for inventing the laser interferometric
technique which is the basic operation of LIGO. He
was Chair of the COBE Science Working
Group.[1][2][3]

In 2017, Weiss was awarded the Nobel Prize in

Physics, along with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish, "for
decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the
observation of gravitational waves".[4][5][6][7]

Weiss has helped realize a number of challenging

experimental tests of fundamental physics. He is a Weiss in June 2018
member of the Fermilab Holometer experiment, which Born September 29, 1932
uses a 40m laser interferometer to measure properties Berlin, Germany
of space and time at quantum scale and provide
Education Massachusetts Institute of
Planck-precision tests of quantum holographic
Technology (BS, PhD)
fluctuation.[8][9]
Known for Pioneering laser
interferometric gravitational
wave observation
Early life and education
Awards Einstein Prize (2007)
Rainer Weiss was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Special Breakthrough Prize in
Gertrude Loesner and Frederick A. Weiss.[10][11] His Fundamental Physics (2016)
father, a physician, neurologist, and psychoanalyst, Gruber Prize in Cosmology
was forced out of Germany by Nazis because he was (2016)
Jewish and an active member of the Communist Party. Shaw Prize (2016)
His mother, an actress, was Christian.[12] His aunt was Kavli Prize (2016)
the sociologist Hilda Weiss. Harvey Prize (2016)
Princess of Asturias Award
The family fled first to Prague, but Germany's (2017)
occupation of Czechoslovakia after the 1938 Munich Nobel Prize in Physics (2017)
Agreement caused them to flee again; the philanthropic Scientific career
Stix family of St. Louis helped them obtain visas to
Fields Physics
enter the United States.[13] Weiss spent his youth in
Laser physics
New York City, where he attended Columbia Grammar
Experimental gravitation
School. He studied at MIT, dropped out during his Cosmic background
junior year,[14] but eventually returned to receive his measurements
S.B. degree in 1955 and Ph.D. degree in 1962 under Institutions Massachusetts Institute of
Jerrold Zacharias.[15] Technology
Princeton University
He taught at Tufts University from 1960 to 1962, was a
Tufts University
postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University from 1962
Thesis Stark Effect and Hyperfine
to 1964, and then joined the faculty at MIT in 1964.[10]
Structure of Hydrogen
In a 2022 interview given to Federal University of Pará Fluoride ([Link]
in Brazil, Weiss talks about his life and career, the [Link]/docview/30211399
memories of his childhood and youth, his 4/) (1962)
undergraduate and graduate studies at MIT, and the Doctoral Jerrold R. Zacharias
future of gravitational waves astronomy.[16] advisor
Doctoral Nergis Mavalvala
students Philip K. Chapman
Achievements Rana X. Adhikari
Other notable Bruce Allen
Weiss brought two fields of fundamental physics
students Sarah Veatch
research from birth to maturity: characterization of the
cosmic background radiation,[3] and interferometric
gravitational wave observation.

In 1973 he made pioneering measurements of the spectrum of the

cosmic microwave background radiation, taken from a weather
balloon, showing that the microwave background exhibited the
thermal spectrum characteristic of the remnant radiation from the
Big Bang.[14] He later became co-founder and science advisor of
the NASA Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite,[1]
which made detailed mapping of the radiation.

Weiss also pioneered the concept of using lasers for an

interferometric gravitational wave detector, suggesting that the
path length required for such a detector would necessitate
kilometer-scale arms. He built a prototype in the 1970s, following Rainer Weiss during Nobel Prize
earlier work by Robert L. Forward.[17][18] He co-founded the NSF press conference in Stockholm,
LIGO (gravitational-wave detection) project,[19] which was based December 2017
on his report "A study of a long Baseline Gravitational Wave
Antenna System".[20]

Both of these efforts couple challenges in instrument science with physics important to the understanding
of the Universe.[21]
In February 2016, he was one of the four scientists of LIGO/Virgo collaboration presenting at the press
conference for the announcement that the first direct gravitational wave observation had been made in
September 2015.[22][23][24][25][a]

Honors and awards

Rainer Weiss has been recognized by numerous awards including:

In 2006, with John C. Mather, he and the COBE team received the Gruber Prize in
Cosmology.[2]
In 2007, with Ronald Drever, he was awarded the APS Einstein Prize for his work.[26]
In 2016 and 2017, for the achievement of gravitational waves detection, he received:

The Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics,[27]

Gruber Prize in Cosmology,[28]
Shaw Prize,[29]
Kavli Prize in Astrophysics[30]
The Harvey Prize together with Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever.[31]
The Smithsonian magazine's American Ingenuity Award in the Physical Science
category, with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish.[32]
The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics, 2017.[33]
Princess of Asturias Award (2017) (jointly with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish).[34]
The Nobel Prize in Physics (2017) (jointly with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish)[4]
Fellowship of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters[35]

In 2018, he was awarded the American Astronomical Society's Joseph Weber Award for
Astronomical Instrumentation "for his invention of the interferometric gravitational-wave
detector, which led to the first detection of long-predicted gravitational waves."[36]
In 2020 he was elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.[37]

Selected publications
Weiss, R.; Stroke, H.H.; Jaccarino, V.; Edmonds, D.S. (1957). "Magnetic Moments and
Hyperfine Structures Anomalies of Cs133, Cs135 and Cs137". Phys. Rev. 105 (2): 590–603.
Bibcode:1957PhRv..105..590S ([Link]
doi:10.1103/PhysRev.105.590 ([Link]
R. Weiss (1961). "Molecular Beam Electron Bombardment Detector". Rev. Sci. Instrum. 32
(4): 397–401. Bibcode:1961RScI...32..397W ([Link]
32..397W). doi:10.1063/1.1717386 ([Link]
R. Weiss & L. Grodzins (1962). "A Search for a Frequency Shift of 14.4 keV Photons on
Traversing Radiation Fields". Physics Letters. 1 (8): 342. Bibcode:1962PhL.....1..342W (http
s://[Link]/abs/1962PhL.....1..342W). doi:10.1016/0031-9163(62)90420-1 (ht
tps://[Link]/10.1016%2F0031-9163%2862%2990420-1).
Weiss, Rainer (1963). "Stark Effect and Hyperfine Structure of Hydrogen Fluoride". Phys.
Rev. 131 (2): 659–665. Bibcode:1963PhRv..131..659W ([Link]
963PhRv..131..659W). doi:10.1103/PhysRev.131.659 ([Link]
131.659).
R. Weiss & B. Block (1965). "A Gravimeter to Monitor the OSO Dilational Model of the
Earth". J. Geophys. Res. 70 (22): 5615. Bibcode:1965JGR....70.5615W ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1965JGR....70.5615W). doi:10.1029/JZ070i022p05615 ([Link]
9%2FJZ070i022p05615).
R. Weiss & G. Blum (1967). "Experimental Test of the Freundlich Red-Shift Hypothesis".
Phys. Rev. 155 (5): 1412. Bibcode:1967PhRv..155.1412B ([Link]
s/1967PhRv..155.1412B). doi:10.1103/PhysRev.155.1412 ([Link]
Rev.155.1412).
R. Weiss (1967). "Electric and Magnetic Field Probes". Am. J. Phys. 35 (11): 1047–1048.
Bibcode:1967AmJPh..35.1047W ([Link]
W). doi:10.1119/1.1973723 ([Link]
[Link] and S. Ezekiel (1968). "Laser-Induced Fluorescence in a Molecular Beam of
Iodine". Phys. Rev. Lett. 20 (3): 91–93. Bibcode:1968PhRvL..20...91E ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1968PhRvL..20...91E). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.20.91 ([Link]
3%2FPhysRevLett.20.91).
R. Weiss & D. Muehlner (1970). "A Measurement of the Isotropic Background Radiation in
the Far Infrared". Phys. Rev. Lett. 24 (13): 742. Bibcode:1970PhRvL..24..742M ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1970PhRvL..24..742M). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.24.742 ([Link]
org/10.1103%2FPhysRevLett.24.742).
R. Weiss (1972). "Electromagnetically Coupled Broadband Gravitational Antenna" ([Link]
[Link]/bitstream/handle/1721.1/56271/RLE_QPR_105_V.pdf?sequence=1#page=38)
(PDF). Quarterly Progress Report, Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT. 105: 54.
R. Weiss & D. Muehlner (1973). "Balloon Measurements of the Far Infrared Background
Radiation". Phys. Rev. D. 7 (2): 326. Bibcode:1973PhRvD...7..326M ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1973PhRvD...7..326M). doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.7.326 ([Link]
FPhysRevD.7.326).
R. Weiss & D. Muehlner (1973). "Further Measurements of the Submillimeter Background at
Balloon Altitude". Phys. Rev. Lett. 30 (16): 757. Bibcode:1973PhRvL..30..757M ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1973PhRvL..30..757M). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.30.757 ([Link]
org/10.1103%2FPhysRevLett.30.757).
R. Weiss & D.K. Owens (1974). "Measurements of the Phase Fluctuations on a He-Ne
Zeeman Laser". Rev. Sci. Instrum. 45 (9): 1060. Bibcode:1974RScI...45.1060O ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1974RScI...45.1060O). doi:10.1063/1.1686809 ([Link]
3%2F1.1686809).
R. Weiss, D.K. Owens & D. Muehlner (1979). "A Large Beam Sky Survey at Millimeter and
Submillimeter Wavelengths Made from Balloon Altitudes" ([Link]
5). Astrophysical Journal. 231: 702. Bibcode:1979ApJ...231..702O ([Link]
[Link]/abs/1979ApJ...231..702O). doi:10.1086/157235 ([Link]
Weiss, R.; Downey, P.M.; Bachner, F.J.; Donnelly, J.P.; Lindley, W.T.; Mountain, R.W.;
Silversmith, D.J. (1980). "Monolithic Silicon Bolometers". Journal of Infrared and Millimeter
Waves. 1 (6): 910. doi:10.1364/ao.23.000910 ([Link]
PMID 18204660 ([Link]
R. Weiss (1980). "Measurements of the Cosmic Background Radiation" ([Link]
146%[Link].18.090180.002421). Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 18:
489–535. Bibcode:1980ARA&A..18..489W ([Link]
18..489W). doi:10.1146/[Link].18.090180.002421 ([Link]
aa.18.090180.002421).
 R. Weiss (1980). "The COBE Project". Physica Scripta. 21 (5): 670.
Bibcode:1980PhyS...21..670W ([Link]
doi:10.1088/0031-8949/21/5/016 ([Link]
6). S2CID 250836076 ([Link]
R. Weiss, S.S. Meyer & A.D. Jeffries (1983). "A Search for the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect at
Millimeter Wavelengths" ([Link] Astrophys. J. Lett. 271: L1.
Bibcode:1983ApJ...271L...1M ([Link]
doi:10.1086/184080 ([Link]
Weiss, R.; Halpern, M.; Benford, R.; Meyer, S.; Muehlner, D. (1988). "Measurements of the
Anisotropy of the Cosmic Background Radiation and Diffuse Galactic Emission at Millimeter
and Submillimeter Wavelengths" ([Link] Astrophys. J. 332:
596. Bibcode:1988ApJ...332..596H ([Link]
H). doi:10.1086/166679 ([Link]
R. Weiss, J.C. Mather, E.S. Cheng, R.E. Eplee Jr., R.B. Isaacman, S.S. Meyer, R.A. Shafer,
E.L. Wright, C.L. Bennett, N.W. Boggess, E. Dwek, S. Gulkis, M.G. Hauser, M. Janssen, T.
Kelsall, P.M. Lubin, S.H. Moseley Jr., T.L. Murdock, R.F. Silverberg, G.F. Smoot and D.T.
Wilkinson (1990). "A Preliminary Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background
Spectrum by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Satellite" ([Link]
F185717). Astrophys. J. 354: L37. Bibcode:1990ApJ...354L..37M ([Link]
edu/abs/1990ApJ...354L..37M). doi:10.1086/185717 ([Link]
R. Weiss, G. Smoot, C. Bennett, R. Weber, J. Maruschak, R. Ratliff, M. Janssen, J.
Chitwood, L. Hilliard, M. Lecha, R. Mills, R. Patschke, C. Richards, C. Backus, J. Mather, M.
Hauser, D. Wilkenson, S. Gulkis, N. Boggess, E. Cheng, T. Kelsall, P. Lubin, S. Meyer, H.
Moseley, T. Murdock, R. Shafer, R. Silverberg and E. Wright (1990). "COBE Differential
Microwave Radiometers: Instrument Design and Implementation" ([Link]
F169154). Astrophys. J. 360: 685. Bibcode:1990ApJ...360..685S ([Link]
edu/abs/1990ApJ...360..685S). doi:10.1086/169154 ([Link]
R. Weiss (1990). "Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors". In N. Ashby; D. Bartlett; W.
Wyss (eds.). Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on General Relativity and
Gravitation ([Link] Cambridge University Press.
pp. 331 ([Link]
ISBN 9780521384285.
R. Weiss, D. Shoemaker, P. Fritschel, J. Glaime and N. Christensen (1991). "Prototype
Michelson Interferometer with Fabry-Perot Cavities". Applied Optics. 30 (22): 3133–8.
Bibcode:1991ApOpt..30.3133S ([Link]
doi:10.1364/AO.30.003133 ([Link] PMID 20706365 (htt
ps://[Link]/20706365).

Notes
a. Other physicists presenting were Gabriela González, David Reitze, Kip Thorne, and France
A. Córdova from the NSF.

See also
List of Jewish Nobel laureates

References
1. Lars Brink (June 2, 2014). Nobel Lectures in Physics (2006–2010) ([Link]
 m/books?id=yRS3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA25). World Scientific. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-981-4612-
70-8.
2. "NASA and COBE Scientists Win Top Cosmology Prize" ([Link]
303180234/[Link]
NASA. 2006. Archived from the original ([Link]
ry/2006/gruber_award.html) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
3. Weiss, Rainer (1980). "Measurements of the Cosmic Background Radiation" ([Link]
[Link]/level5/March03/Weiss/[Link]). Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 18: 489–
535. Bibcode:1980ARA&A..18..489W ([Link]
89W). doi:10.1146/[Link].18.090180.002421 ([Link]
8.090180.002421).
4. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2017" ([Link]
es/2017/[Link]). The Nobel Foundation. October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
5. Rincon, Paul; Amos, Jonathan (October 3, 2017). "Einstein's waves win Nobel Prize" (http
s://[Link]/news/science-environment-41476648). BBC News. Retrieved October 3,
2017.
6. Overbye, Dennis (October 3, 2017). "2017 Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to LIGO Black
Hole Researchers" ([Link]
The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
7. Kaiser, David (October 3, 2017). "Learning from Gravitational Waves" ([Link]
com/2017/10/03/opinion/[Link]). The New York Times.
Retrieved October 3, 2017.
8. Emily Tapp (October 6, 2017). "Why we built the Holometer" ([Link]
6/why-we-built-the-holometer/). IOP, Classical and Quantum Gravity journal. Retrieved
October 22, 2017.
9. Aaron Chou; et al. (2017). "The Holometer: an instrument to probe Planckian quantum
geometry". Class. Quantum Grav. 34 (6): 065005. arXiv:1611.08265 ([Link]
11.08265). Bibcode:2017CQGra..34f5005C ([Link]
a..34f5005C). doi:10.1088/1361-6382/aa5e5c ([Link]
5e5c). S2CID 119065032 ([Link]
10. "Weiss CV at [Link]" ([Link] (PDF).
11. "MIT physicist Rainer Weiss shares Nobel Prize in physics" ([Link]
hysicist-rainer-weiss-shares-nobel-prize-physics-1003). MIT News. October 3, 2017.
12. "Rainer Weiss Biography" ([Link]
[Link]/sites/default/files/Rainer%20Weiss%[Link]) (PDF). [Link].
Archived from the original ([Link]
[Link]) (PDF) on October 13, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
13. Shirley K. Cohen (May 10, 2000). "Interview with Rainer Weiss" ([Link]
[Link]/183/1/Weiss_OHO.pdf) (PDF). Oral History Project, California Institute of
Technology. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
14. Cho, Adrian (August 4, 2016). "Meet the College Dropout who Invented the Gravitational
Wave Detector ([Link]
gravitational-wave-detector)", Science. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
15. Weiss, Rainer (1962). Stark effect and hyperfine structure of hydrogen fluoride ([Link]
[Link]/docview/302113994/) (Ph.D.). Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
OCLC 33374441 ([Link] – via ProQuest.
16. Interview with Rainer Weiss (2017 Physics Nobel Prize Laureate) ([Link]
watch?v=QzqllWPc8tw&t=1462s&ab_channel=Interviews%2FEntrevistasUFPA). Federal
University of Pará. 2022.
17. Cho, Adrian (October 3, 2017). "Ripples in space: U.S. trio wins physics Nobel for discovery
of gravitational waves ([Link]
ysics-nobel-discovery-gravitational-waves)," Science. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
18. Cervantes-Cota, Jorge L., Galindo-Uribarri, Salvador, and Smoot, George F. (2016). "A Brief
History of Gravitational Waves ([Link] Universe, 2, no. 3, 22.
Retrieved May 20, 2019.
19. Mervis, Jeffrey. "Got gravitational waves? Thank NSF's approach to building big facilities" (ht
tps://[Link]/content/article/got-gravitational-waves-thank-nsf-s-approach-building-
big-facilities). Science Magazine. ISSN 1095-9203 ([Link]
03). Retrieved November 14, 2017.
20. Linsay, P., Saulson, P., and Weiss, R. (1983). "A Study of a Long Baseline Gravitational
Wave Antenna System ([Link]
pdf), NSF. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
21. David Shoemaker (2012). "The Evolution of Advanced LIGO" ([Link]
[Link]#page=8) (PDF). LIGO Magazine (1).
22. Twilley, Nicola. "Gravitational Waves Exist: The Inside Story of How Scientists Finally Found
Them" ([Link]
ists-finally-found-them). The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X ([Link]
0028-792X). Retrieved February 11, 2016.
23. Abbott, B.P.; et al. (2016). "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole
Merger". Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (6): 061102. arXiv:1602.03837 ([Link]
37). Bibcode:2016PhRvL.116f1102A ([Link]
02A). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102 ([Link]
61102). PMID 26918975 ([Link] S2CID 124959784 (h
ttps://[Link]/CorpusID:124959784).
24. Naeye, Robert (February 11, 2016). "Gravitational Wave Detection Heralds New Era of
Science" ([Link]
ralds-new-era-of-science-0211201644/). Sky and Telescope. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
25. Castelvecchi, Davide; Witze, Alexandra (February 11, 2016). "Einstein's gravitational waves
found at last" ([Link]
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6.19361). S2CID 182916902 ([Link]
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26. "Prize Recipient" ([Link]
eiss&first_nm=Rainer&year=2007). [Link].
27. "Breakthrough Prize – Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded For
Detection of Gravitational Waves 100 Years After Albert Einstein Predicted Their Existence"
([Link] [Link]. San Francisco. May 2,
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6-gruber-cosmology-prize-press-release). [Link]. The Gruber Foundation. May 4,
2016. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
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en/[Link]?tmp=3&twoid=102&threeid=254&fourid=476). Archived from the original (htt
p://[Link]/en/[Link]?tmp=3&twoid=102&threeid=254&fourid=476) on March
3, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
30. Prize, The Kavli. "9 Scientific Pioneers Receive The 2016 Kavli Prizes" ([Link]
[Link]/news-releases/[Link]
l). [Link] (Press release).
31. Harvey Prize 2016 ([Link]
32. "Meet the Team of Scientists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves" ([Link]
[Link]/innovation/wave-catchers-ligo-team-winner-smithsonian-ingenuity-awards-2016-p
hysical-sciences-180961124/). Smithsonian Magazine.
33. "The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics" ([Link]
Retrieved March 17, 2017.
34. "The Princess of Asturias Foundation" ([Link] [Link].
35. "Group 2: Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics" ([Link]
31/[Link] Norwegian Academy of
Science and Letters. Archived from the original ([Link]
ml?tid=40149) on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
36. "Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation" ([Link]
oseph-weber-award-astronomical-instrumentation). American Astronomical Society.
37. "AAS Fellows" ([Link] AAS. Retrieved October 1,
2020.

Further reading
Cho, A. (August 5, 2016). "The storyteller". Science. 353 (6299): 532–537.
doi:10.1126/science.353.6299.532 ([Link]
PMID 27493164 ([Link]
Mather, J.; Boslough, J. (2008). The very first light: The true inside story of the scientific
journey back to the dawn of the universe ([Link]
Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-01576-4.
Bartusiak, M. (2000). Einstein's unfinished symphony: Listening to the sounds of space-time
([Link] Joseph Henry Press. ISBN 978-0-425-
18620-6.

External links
Media related to Rainer Weiss at Wikimedia Commons
Rainer Weiss's website at MIT ([Link]
LIGO Group at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research ([Link]
[Link]/LIGO)
Rainer Weiss ([Link] at the Mathematics Genealogy
Project
Q&A: Rainer Weiss on LIGO's origins ([Link]
211) at [Link]
Archived at Ghostarchive ([Link]
wY) and the Wayback Machine ([Link]
[Link]/watch?v=qTqTx1gX1wY): "UW Frontiers of Physics Lecture: Dr. Rainer Weiss,
Fall 2016, recorded October 25, U. Washington College of Arts & Sciences" ([Link]
[Link]/watch?v=qTqTx1gX1wY). YouTube. November 10, 2016.
Rainer Weiss ([Link] on [Link] including the
Nobel Lecture 8 December 2017 LIGO and Gravitational Waves I

Retrieved from "[Link]