 Kip Thorne

Kip Thorne is a physicist whose research connects general relativity, black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves. His authored Nobel autobiography describes how theoretical questions about these systems helped shape LIGO and the interpretation of its signals. The collaboration required both predicted gravitational-wave behavior and sustained experimental development; a detector's observed strain becomes astrophysical information through that connection.^[ref]

Kip Thorne is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions to gravitational physics and astrophysics, particularly in the areas of black holes, gravitational waves, and quantum physics. Born on June 1, 1940, he is one of the leading scientists in the study of the properties of black holes and the nature of spacetime.