Susan Marjorie Scott FAA is an Australian mathematical physicist whose work concerns general relativity, gravitational singularities, and black holes. She is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Australian National University (ANU).[1][2]

At ANU, she is the leader of the General Relativity Theory and Data Analysis Group, part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration that has discovered gravity waves from collisions involving black holes and neutron stars,[3][4] and is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration Council.[5]

Education and career

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Scott studied mathematics and physics at Monash University and has a doctorate in mathematical physics from the University of Adelaide, under the supervision of Peter Szekeres. She spent four years working with Roger Penrose at the University of Oxford and was a Rhodes Visiting Fellow at Somerville College, before joining the Australian National University faculty in 1998.[6] She is a Chief Investigator for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav).[7]

Recognition

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Scott was elected fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2016.[6] In 2020, she was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society,[8] and received the 2020 Dirac Medal of the University of New South Wales.[9] In 2020, she was a joint winner of the Prime Minister's Prize for Science.[10] She received the Walter Burfitt Prize from the Royal Society of New South Wales and the Walter Boas Medal from the Australian Institute of Physics in 2022.[11][12] She was awarded the Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal by the Australian Academy of Science in 2023.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Professor Susan Scott", People, ANU Research School of Physics, retrieved 2020-07-28
  2. ^ "People", The Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics, ANU, retrieved 2020-08-09
  3. ^ Crew, Bec (22 February 2018), "The ripple that caused a universal wave", Australia Unlimited
  4. ^ Strickland, Ashley (24 August 2019), Black hole gobbles up neutron star, causing ripples in space and time, CNN
  5. ^ "Susan Scott", LIGO member roster, retrieved 2020-07-28
  6. ^ a b "Professor Susan Scott FAA", Experts, Australian Academy of Science, 4 March 2016, retrieved 2020-07-28
  7. ^ "Chief Investigators", ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), retrieved 2020-10-13
  8. ^ APS Fellows Archive, retrieved 2020-10-09
  9. ^ "The 2020 Dirac Medal in Theoretical Physics awarded to Prof. Susan Scott | The Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics". cga.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  10. ^ Weule, Genelle (28 October 2020), "Prime Minister's Prize for Science awarded to gravitational wave scientists", ABC News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 2020-10-29
  11. ^ "Walter Burfitt Prize". The Royal Society of NSW. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  12. ^ "Susan Scott wins Australian Institute of Physics Medal". Australian National University. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  13. ^ "Decoding dragons and devils, what triggers volcanoes, and more: Australia's stars of science". Australian Academy of Science. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
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