HLS 19RS-1033 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 104
BY REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Gabriela González on being named the Southeastern
Conference Professor of the Year for 2019
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Professor Gabriela González on her selection as Southeastern Conference
3 Professor of the Year for 2019.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana House of Representatives was pleased and proud to
5receive the news that Professor Gabriela González of the Department of Physics and
6Astronomy at Louisiana State University has been selected as Southeastern Conference
7Professor of the Year for 2019; and
8 WHEREAS, Professor González has a long history of bringing pride and honor to
9her institution and her adoptive state, particularly as a collaborator and spokesperson for the
10Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration; on
11September 14, 2015, LIGO, for the first time in history, detected gravitational waves, waves
12that Albert Einstein predicted but doubted that humans would ever be able to detect because
13of their infinitesimal effects; and
14 WHEREAS, Professor González's research focuses on instrument development and
15data calibration and diagnostics for LIGO; instruments and calibration are foundationally
16essential to detecting the distortions in the fabric of space-time known as gravitational waves
17because despite the enormous amounts of energy released in the merging of stars and black
18holes, LIGO instruments must detect distortions in distance on the order of one trillionth of
19the wavelength of the light being used to make the measurements; in other words, detection
20of the largest events in the universe requires devices capable of making the smallest
21measurements ever made; and
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HR NO. 104
1 WHEREAS, in 2015, within days of powering up for some preliminary data
2collection, the LIGO sensors detected the gravitational waves resulting from a collision of
3black holes 1.3 billion years ago, so not only were the devices developed by Professor
4González and her collaborators capable of detecting the presence of gravitational waves,
5they could describe the scale of the event that produced the waves and when in "history" the
6event occurred; and
7 WHEREAS, Gabriela González was born in Córdoba, Argentina; she completed her
8Ph.D. at Syracuse University in 1995 and began her career working with LIGO at the
9Massachusetts Institute of Technology; her tenure at LSU began in 2001, and she was
10promoted to Professor in 2008; and
11 WHEREAS, recognition as Southeastern Conference Professor of the Year is indeed
12a prestigious honor and places Professor Gabriela González amongst the elite of academia,
13but this award will not be alone in her trophy case; a few of the previous recognitions she
14has received, on her own or with team-LIGO, are: election to the National Academy of
15Sciences, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the International
16Society of General Relativity and Gravitation, the Einstein Medal, the Bruno Rossi Prize
17from the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society,
18Honoris Causa Ph.D. from National University of Córdoba, Argentina, and LSU Rainmaker;
19and
20 WHEREAS, Professor González's passion and dedication have been evident
21throughout her storied career, and it is truly fitting that the leaders of the Southeastern
22Conference academic community have selected her for this recognition.
23 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
24Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Professor Gabriela González on her
25selection as Southeastern Conference Professor of the Year for 2019; does hereby express
26its sincerest gratitude to her for helping us to better understand the fundamental truths of our
27physical universe; and does hereby express its hope that she will continue to contribute to
28basic research on gravitational waves and to inspire generations of students to achieve great
29things.
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HR NO. 104
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
2Professor 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 104 Original 2019 Regular Session Davis
Commends Professor Gabriela González on her selection as Southeastern Conference
Professor of the Year for 2019.
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