Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop


December 1-4, 2018

College Park, Maryland


The Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI), a partnership between the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is pleased to host the 2018 Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop.  The workshop will take place at the new Hotel at the University of Maryland, which is adjacent to campus and within walking distance of the College Park Metro station.  Online registration and abstract submission have closed.  On-site registration will be available at the Workshop Registration Desk on the ballroom level of the hotel. A limited number of dinner cruise tickets will be available for on-site purchase.


This workshop represents a convergence of JSI’s annual workshop, which has explored a variety of cross-cutting astrophysics topics since its inception in 2011, and the long-standing international Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop (GWPAW) series, which grew out of the earlier Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop.  GWPAW has most recently been held in Annecy, France in 2017; Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA in 2016; and Osaka, Japan in 2015.

For JSI-GWPAW 2018, we are planning a program with ample time for discussion and interaction, covering many of the hottest current and future topics enabled by the detection and detailed study of gravitational waves together with astrophysical modeling and other astronomical observations. Talks will be carefully selected to stimulate discussion and ideas for collaboration, and the workshop will also include tutorials on using data from different gravitational-wave detection projects. Poster presentations are encouraged, and poster presenters will be able to give 2-minute “sparkler” talks to advertise their posters. Posters will be on display for the whole workshop, and will be the focal point during an evening reception with food on the first night of the workshop. Breakfast will be provided on all four days before the morning sessions begin; lunch will be provided in the hotel on the first three days (as the workshop ends at lunchtime on the fourth day).

We have negotiated a room rate at the Hotel@UMD of $129 per night plus taxes. While there are other hotels nearby, this is an exceptionally favorable rate for this luxurious hotel, and we strongly encourage participants from out-of-town to take advantage of it and stay at the Hotel@UMD. (Also, JSI’s contract with the hotel promises that participants will book a certain number of rooms, and JSI may incur additional costs if people stay elsewhere.)  See the Important Dates box for the deadline to reserve a room at this rate.

The workshop banquet will be in the form of a dinner cruise on the Potomac River aboard the Odyssey on Monday, December 3.  The boat is fully enclosed for year-round operation and will feature grand views of Washington from the river.  Bus transportation will be provided to the departure point on the Washington DC Waterfront and returning to the Hotel@UMD at the conclusion of the cruise.  Dinner cruise tickets are an extra purchase (not included in the registration fee) but are being subsidized, especially for students, so we encourage all meeting attendees to take advantage of this memorable outing.  Extra tickets may be purchased if you would like to bring a guest or guests.

Workshop participants may like to see the Weber Memorial Garden, near the entrance to the Physical Sciences Complex, while in town. The PSC building, on campus, is a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. See the item in the navigation menu for details.  (A dedication ceremony had been scheduled for the afternoon of December 4, but needed to be rescheduled.)