Kip Thorne is a prolific expert on gravitational waves and co-author of the textbook Gravitation, from which most of the present generation of scientists has learned general relativity. His research has focused on relativistic stars, black holes, wormholes, time warps and gravitational waves, and he cofounded the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) Project, with which he is still associated.

A member of the California Institute of Technology faculty since 1967, Thorne was The Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics from 1991 to 2009. His awards include the Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society, the Karl Schwarzschild Medal of the German Astronomical Society, the Albert Einstein Medal of the Albert Einstein Society, and three major prizes for his book Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy.

Thorne is currently pursuing a career in research, writing and media, including the forthcoming Steven Spielberg-directed movie Interstellar, for which Thorne co-authored the story and is executive producer.

Past Events

• Astronomy’s New Messengers Listening to the Universe with Gravitational Waves

  2010 Festival

  Marcia Bartusiak joins Kip Thorne, Laura Danly and Rainer Weiss to demonstrate how two observatories on opposite sides of the country, called LIGO, may open a new window on observing the cosmos.

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• Black Holes and Holographic Worlds

  2010 Festival

  Alan Alda joins Kip Thorne, Robbert Dijkgraaf and other renowned researchers on an odyssey through one of nature’s most spectacular creations.

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• 2010 Kavli Prizes

  2010 Festival

  Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus, Co-Chair of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, delivered the keynote address to open the 2010 Kavli Prizes in Oslo, Norway.

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