Gravitational wave researcher makes a splash at Cardonald Primary School
Published: 18 June 2025
A senior researcher from a groundbreaking international science and engineering collaboration returned to visit his old Glasgow primary school this week.
A senior researcher from a groundbreaking international science and engineering collaboration returned to visit his old Glasgow primary school this week.
Dr Calum Torrie visited Cardonald Primary School on Tuesday 17 June to present a framed version of science-themed artwork made by the pupils and to discuss his work at LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
(clockwise from top left) Dr Calum Torrie of LIGO, Dr Andrew Spencer of the University of Glasgow, Cardonald Primary School P2 pupil Harry McGregor (age 6) and P7 pupil Darcie Ayton (Age 10)
Dr Torrie is Associate Director and Chief Engineer at the USA-based LIGO, which detects gravitational waves - the ripples in spacetime made by colossal events like the merging of black holes.
Gravitational waves were first were predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916, but it took nearly a century to develop and build a system sensitive enough to detect them. The LIGO detectors in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana made the historic first observation on 14 September 2015, opening up a whole new form of astronomy.
Scientists from around the world contributed to developing technology for LIGO, including those at the University of Glasgow, and the discovery was recognised with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017.
During the visit, Dr Torrie gave a talk to pupils about his time at Cardonald Primary School in the 1980s, his studies in physics and astronomy at the University of Glasgow, and his work at LIGO. He now lives in Pasadena, California.
The visit was organised by researchers from the University of Glasgow, where he is also an honorary research fellow.
In 2023, University physicists visited the school to enlist pupils’ help in making a colourful mosaic depicting one of the signals from LIGO’s first detection. Pupils and staff drew 1,156 pictures to make up the individual pixels of the visualisation of the signal picked up by the LIGO Livingston detector.
A partner mosaic of the corresponding signal from LIGO Hanford, created by the people of Glasgow during an event at the Kelvingrove Museum in 2016, is currently on display in the Glasgow Science Centre.
During his visit, Dr Torrie showcased the fully framed mosaic to the school, and presented them with a framed A3 poster, celebrating their work.
He said: “I was proud to come back to Cardonald Primary nearly 40 years after I left to meet pupils and present them with their fantastic artwork representing the first detection of gravitational waves.
“Having the opportunity to meet young people and get them engaged with science is always welcome, but being able to meet pupils who are growing up where I did was particularly special.”
Martin Coogan, Headteacher at Cardonald Primary School said: “We were delighted to welcome Dr Torrie back to the school to meet pupils, discuss his career, and present us with the artwork. The children thoroughly enjoyed Dr Torrie’s presentation which focused on gravitational wave astronomy and how the remarkable sensitivity of the LIGO detectors were enabled by research at a local university.
“It’s fantastic to think that an internationally-recognised scientist attended our school and studied at the University of Glasgow. I am sure Dr Torrie’s visit to our school will inspire some of our pupils to start thinking about science as a possible future career path.”
Scientists from the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for Gravitational Research played a key role in the development of the LIGO detector’s delicate mirror suspensions, and in the analysis of LIGO data which make the detection of gravitational waves possible.
Glasgow researchers continue to contribute to the growing field of gravitational wave astronomy, which now encompasses observatory sites in Europe, India and Japan. The LIGO detectors are currently engaged in their fourth observing run, which has already produced over 200 new gravitational wave candidates.
(left) Dr Andrew Spencer of the University of Glasgow, Cardonald Primary School P2 pupil Harry McGregor (age 6) and P7 pupil Darcie Ayton (Age 10) and (right) Dr Calum Torrie of LIGO with Cardonald headteacher Martin Coogan
The University’s Dr Andrew Spencer works in gravitational wave research and helped lead the development of the mosaics. He said: "The University of Glasgow has pioneered gravitational wave research for more than half a century, leading up to the first detection of gravitational waves that the mosaic celebrates. Today, our research group continues to work at the cutting edge of detector system design and data analysis. We are also involved in the development of next-generation gravitational wave detectors with the ability to detect more astrophysical signals from further and further out in the universe.
“The Cardonald mosaic celebrates how this groundbreaking discovery was the work of many people. The individual squares are recycled from the work of many University of Glasgow researchers past and present, and each one was decorated by students and staff at Cardonald Primary. Working with the School to produce the mosaic was a brilliant experience and it was great to return with Dr Torrie and the final artwork. We hope that future generations of Glasgow children will grow up to continue the tradition of scientific innovation.”
Dr Torrie’s visit to the school comes as the international gravitational wave research community prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first detection of gravitational waves.
The city of Glasgow will play host to the International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation and the Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves (GR-Amaldi) on 14-18 July 2025. Gravitational wave and relativity researchers from around the world will gather to discuss their research at the conference, which is organised by the Institute of Physics and supported by the University of Glasgow.
First published: 18 June 2025