Maura McLaughlin
Astronomy
Education
Research
My main research interests involve studying neutron stars and their environments through radio, X-ray and gamma-ray observations. Neutron stars are amazing physical laboratories for general relativity, studies of the interstellar medium, high-energy particle and plasma physics, and studies of stellar evolution. A significant research aim, as chair of the NANOGrav collaboration, is to use neutron stars to detect gravitational waves through timing an array of ultra-precise millisecond pulsars. I am PI on an NSF PIRE (Partnerships for International Research and Education) award for the International Pulsar Timing Array for gravitational wave detection. My work with the Pulsar Search Collaboratory involves West Virginia high-school students in our research.
WVU is uniquely placed for students to use the Green Bank Telescope in nearby Green Bank, West Virginia, the largest fully steerable dish in the world. Some of the other instruments used in WVUresearch are radio telescopes such as Arecibo, Parkes, VLA, ATCA, and GMRT, in addition to X-ray satellites such as XMM and Chandra, and the Fermi gamma-ray telescope. Some research involves developing techniques for next-generation radio telescopes such as the SKA.
Please contact me if you are interested in undergraduate research or graduate study in our group!
Visit the Gravitational Waves and Cosmology page.
Awards and Honors
2009 Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award
2008 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship