HLS 17RS-1288 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 33
BY REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS
COMMENDATIONS: Commends LSU Physicist Gabriela González for her work in a
groundbreaking scientific discovery
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Gabriela González for her work in the recent groundbreaking scientific
3 discovery of gravitational waves.
4 WHEREAS, Gabriela González is an experimental physicist with the Laser
5Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in Livingston, Louisiana, and a
6professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Louisiana State University; and
7 WHEREAS, years of research and hard work came to fruition with the detection of
8a single ripple in the fabric of space and time on September 14, 2015. At 4:50:45 a.m.,
9LIGO detected a signal of a gravitational wave, and nearly seven milliseconds later, another
10identical signal reached the LIGO Hanford facility in Hanford, Washington, confirming the
11signal and the presence of gravitational waves in the universe; and
12 WHEREAS, this particular wave occurred as a result of two black holes colliding
13with each other nearly 1.3 billion years ago, and in the final fraction of a second of the
14collision, a large amount of energy was emitted in the form of gravitational waves and
15spread out through the universe and reached Earth on that fateful September morning; and
16 WHEREAS, not only did González and her collaborators confirm the general theory
17of relativity that Albert Einstein predicted a century ago, but they also have opened up
18countless opportunities for a new age of scientific discovery; and
19 WHEREAS, this discovery is so groundbreaking, Einstein himself doubted scientists
20would ever be able to physically measure and record these waves; but with dedication and
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HR NO. 33
1passion for understanding the universe, González and the team of LIGO scientists did just
2that; and
3 WHEREAS, Gabriela González has been named one of the top ten scientists in the
4world by the scientific journal Nature, adding to an impressive list of accolades that include
5Scientist of the Year by Great Minds in STEM and one of the top 100 Leading Global
6Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine; and
7 WHEREAS, on behalf of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, she received the 2016
8Breakthrough of the Year from Physics World for "their revolutionary, first ever direct
9observations of gravitational waves"; and
10 WHEREAS, in addition, González, who was born in Córdoba, Argentina, was also
11awarded the highest distinction from the Senate of Argentina, the Honorable Domingo
12Faustino Sarmiento award.
13 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
14Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Gabriela González for her work in the recent
15groundbreaking scientific discovery of gravitational waves and wish her continued success
16in her career.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
18to Gabriela González.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 33 Original 2017 Regular Session Davis
Commends Gabriela González for her work in the recent groundbreaking scientific
discovery of gravitational waves.
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