Abstract:
This talk will explore the pre-history of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) with a focus on those events led by the MIT team (Rai Weiss, David Shoemaker, Peter Saulson, Jeffrey Livas, Daniel Dewey, Peter Kramer, and Richard Benford) during the late-1970s through the mid-1980s.  Through this history, I argue that a well-formed formulation of the large-scale interferometers and their sites was present throughout this period of LIGO’s pre-history.  Accounts of problem solving related to the prototype design and build, site selection efforts in Maine and at the Idaho National Engineering Lab, and early observation runs of the prototype under varying budget levels will be provided.