Texas Tech Astrophysicist Will Receive Almost $300K Over Next 5 Years

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A Texas Tech University astrophysicist is set to receive close to $300,000 over the next 5 years as part of a $17 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Joseph Romano, a professor in TTU's Department of Physics & Astronomy, conducts research in gravitational-wave data analysis. It's said in a news release that his work fits perfectly with the goals of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, or NANOGrav.

Earlier in June, the NSF announced its support of NANOGrav with the $17 million grant over the next 5 years for operation of the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center, which will address the detection and characterization of low-frequency gravitational waves.

Romano said:

The goal is to detect the presence of low-frequency gravitational waves in an effort to better understand how supermassive black holes and galaxies form.

In addition to being a member in the NANOGrav collaboration, Romano is also a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna Consortium, which are both international collaborations of scientists searching for gravitational waves.

On top of this, Romano is also a member of Texas Tech's STEM Center for Outreach, Research & Education, a member of the American Physical Society and was associate editor of the American Journal of Physics.