Conversations with Women in STEAM: Gabriela González

Ticket Sales Begin August 26

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is excited to welcome renowned physicist & gravitational-wave detection expert Gabriela González on October 6, as part of our "Conversations with Women in STEAM" series.

Originally from Argentina, González is currently a professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University and a founding member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. The group achieved a significant scientific breakthrough when their Advanced LIGO detectors recorded the first direct detection of gravitational waves produced by the merger of two black holes, confirming a prediction made by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity.

González will join a Museum astronomer in a moderated discussion about this discovery, her career in astrophysics, and what she's doing to help bring more women into the field.

Museum doors open at 6:30pm; the discussion will begin at 7pm. Beverages and grab-and-go items will be available for purchase in Origins Café until 7:30pm.

Tickets

Leadership Circle: $20*
Members: $25**
Nonmembers: $30

An exclusive presale for Museum members will open at 9am on Wednesday, August 26. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon. Sign up for our email list to be notified when tickets go on sale.

*To learn more about joining the Leadership Circle, please contact Kelly Federico, Annual Fund Manager, at 216.231.4600 x3360 or kfederico@cmnh.org.

**Members: Please log in to your online Museum account to ensure access to the presale and discounted tickets. Your member discount will be reflected in your shopping cart.

Parking

Parking is available in the Museum's attached garage; standard rates apply. Find more information on directions and parking here.

We want everyone to enjoy our programs. If you require a sign language interpreter, please email programming@cmnh.org or call 216.231.4600 at least one week in advance of the program date.

About Gabriela González

Gabriela González is a Louisiana State University Boyd professor in the Physics and Astronomy department and works on searching for gravitational waves with the LIGO team. She was born in Córdoba, Argentina, where she studied before pursuing her Ph.D. in Syracuse University, obtained in 1995. She was a staff scientist in the LIGO group at MIT, joined the faculty at Penn State in 1997 and moved to LSU in 2001.

She has received awards from the American Physical Society, the American Astronomical Society and the National Academy of Sciences. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the US and Argentinian National Academies of Sciences. She has been a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration since 1997, served as spokesperson in 2011-2017, and participated in the announcement of the discovery of gravitational waves in 2016. Her group works on LIGO instrument development, reducing noise sources, and data diagnostics.