Manuela Campanelli is a distinguished professor of astrophysics of the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

. She also holds the John Vouros endowed professorship at RIT and is the director of its

Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation The Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation (CCRG) is a research center of the College of Science (COS) and a Research Center of Excellence at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) dedicated to research at the frontiers of numerical ...

. Her work focuses on the

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

of merging

black holes A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

and

neutron stars A neutron star is the gravitationally collapsed core of a massive supergiant star. It results from the supernova explosion of a massive star—combined with gravitational collapse—that compresses the core past white dwarf star density to th ...

, which are powerful sources of

gravitational waves Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1893 and then later by H ...

electromagnetic radiation In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength ...

and

relativistic jets An astrophysical jet is an astronomy, astronomical phenomenon where outflows of Ionization, ionised matter are emitted as extended beams along the rotation, axis of rotation. When this greatly accelerated matter in the beam approaches the speed of ...

. This research is central to the fields of relativistic astrophysics and

gravitational-wave astronomy Gravitational-wave astronomy is a subfield of astronomy concerned with the detection and study of gravitational waves emitted by astrophysical sources. Gravitational waves are minute distortions or ripples in spacetime caused by the acceleration ...

. She is a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

(2009), a Fellow of International Society on

General Relativity and Gravitation ''General Relativity and Gravitation'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal. It was established in 1970, and is published by Springer Science+Business Media under the auspices of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravita ...

Fellowship (2019), and a recipient of the

Richard A. Isaacson Richard Allen Isaacson (born October 6, 1941) is a retired American physicist who has been cited by 2017 Nobel Laureate Rainer Weiss as indispensable to the LIGO gravitational wave project. Isaacson's 1967 PhD dissertation established that the the ...

award in Gravitational-Wave Science of the APS (2024).

Professional work

Campanelli is known for her groundbreaking work in

gravitational wave Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that Wave propagation, travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravity, gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside i ...

astrophysics. She was lead author on a paper that produced a breakthrough in gravitational wave astrophysics in 2005; she also discovered that

supermassive black hole A supermassive black hole (SMBH or sometimes SBH) is the largest type of black hole, with its mass being on the order of hundreds of thousands, or millions to billions, of times the mass of the Sun (). Black holes are a class of astronomical ...

s can be ejected from their host galaxies at up to 4000 km/s. She then moved on to studying the behavior of matter around inspiraling

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

s, both in the mini disks size, growth and potential

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

emissions. She has received many awards, including the Marie Curie Fellowship (1998), the RIT Trustees Scholarship Award, was mentioned in

Kip Thorne Kip Stephen Thorne (born June 1, 1940) is an American theoretical physicist and writer known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. Along with Rainer Weiss and Barry C. Barish, he was awarded the 2017 Nobel Pri ...

's Nobel Prize lecture and her paper for the gravitational wave breakthrough was listed as one of the landmark papers of the century by the

. She was also the chair of the APS topical group in gravitation in 2013.

Biography

Campanelli was born in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, but moved with her family to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at the age of 14. She received an undergraduate degree in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

from the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

in Italy in 1991, and a PhD in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

from the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

in Switzerland in 1996. She moved then to the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

and then to the

Max Planck Institute The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

in Germany, where she began to use supercomputer simulations to understand how black holes coalesce. After five years at the

University of Texas at Brownsville The University of Texas at Brownsville (abbreviated as UTB and formerly known as the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College TB/TSC was an educational institution located in Brownsville, Texas. The university was on the l ...

, Dr. Campanelli joined the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2007.

Publications

Books

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Journal articles

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campanelli, Manuela Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Swiss astrophysicists Italian astrophysicists Swiss people of Italian descent Italian women astrophysicists Rochester Institute of Technology faculty University of Bern alumni University of Perugia alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society