Photos by Robert Kozloff

"We have detected gravitational waves. We did it."

With those words from David Reitze, the executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, a standing-room only crowd at UChicago’s William Eckhardt Research Center let out a raucous cheer.

Members of the University community gathered Feb. 11 to watch LIGO’s live webcast in Washington, D.C., where the international collaboration announced the discovery of gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of spacetime that Albert Einstein first predicted 100 years ago.

UChicago community cheers discovery of gravitational waves Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1WXOXIrWLw UChicago Creative

Assoc. Prof. Daniel Holz explained the science behind and the significance of the discovery, along with his UChicago collaborators.

“It’s an amazing moment,” Holz said following the celebration. “I think this is where you realize that you’ve done something unique. People for years will talk about this, and it’s absolutely thrilling.”

Originally published on February 11, 2016.