UVA’s David Nichols Wins NSF CAREER Award for Gravitational Wave Research
The National Science Foundation has awarded one of its prestigious CAREER grants to David Nichols, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Virginia. The award recognizes his groundbreaking research on gravitational waves and his commitment to advancing scientific education.
Gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, are ripples in spacetime caused by massive cosmic events such as black hole and neutron star mergers. The NSF-supported Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, has been collecting data for just the last 10 years, offering physicists and astronomers an entirely new way of seeing the universe. Another NSF-backed collaboration, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, or NANOGrav, recently identified a background hum of gravitational waves from supermassive black holes merging over cosmic history.
Nichols’ research aims to deepen our understanding of gravitational waves. He is working to develop new data analysis methods and theoretical calculations to uncover previously unknown effects of general relativity observable through gravitational wave measurements, which, Nichols said, are some of the most precise distance measurements that have ever been undertaken.
Putting it simply, Nichols said,“Old stars collide, and space is never the same again.”
Focusing on black hole collisions, he explores gravitational wave memory effects, lasting imprints left on the fabric of space after powerful cosmic events. Studying the after-effects of these events could reveal new fundamental properties of gravity, Nichols explained.
“I’m interested in understanding the nature of gravity,” Nichols said. “I’m trying to learn more about it by looking at a variety of wavelengths of gravitational waves in the same way that you can learn a lot about the nature of our universe by observing it not only at visible wavelengths, but also at longer radio or shorter x-ray wavelengths.”
With the help of funding from the CAREER award, Nichols will explore how special neutron stars called pulsars — which emit steady radio pulses — could help detect these spacetime imprints. He will also compare gravitational wave memory effects to memory effects in other forces, like electricity and magnetism, looking for clues to understanding what makes them unique. This work will help improve how LIGO and other observatories detect faint gravitational wave signals, and it could reveal how dark matter influences the universe's most extreme environments.
Ultimately, Nichols’s work could offer new insights into the origins and fundamental properties of the universe and further refine science’s understanding of the principles of general relativity.
Advancing Science Education
In addition to supporting groundbreaking research, the purpose of the CAREER award is to advance recipients’ work as educators. The grant’s funding will allow Nichols and his students to create graphics showing how spacetime is distorted around colliding black holes, helping illustrate how gravitational waves are generated. These visualizations will be accompanied by video explanations tailored for three audiences: high school students, undergraduate and early graduate students, and experts who may use them in teaching.
Additionally, Nichols plans to use the project to train undergraduate and graduate students in analytical, data analysis and numerical techniques, equipping them with skills that are highly valued across scientific and technical fields.
Christa Acampora, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, praised Nichols' achievement and its impact on UVA’s research mission.
“Professor Nichols’ work represents the very best of UVA’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of discovery while training the next generation of scientific leaders,” Acampora said. “This award spotlights both his exceptional research and his dedication to making complex scientific concepts accessible to students and the public.”
A Prestigious Honor
The NSF CAREER award is one of the most competitive honors for early-career faculty. It supports researchers who demonstrate leadership in both scholarship and education, integrating innovative research with teaching and outreach.
“It’s a huge honor to win a CAREER award,” Nichols said. “And it will be instrumental in supporting the team of Ph.D. students who work with me to deepen our understanding of gravitational waves and their implications for physics and astronomy.”
