This award provides travel funding to ensure a strong representation of young U.S. scientists at the Sixth International LISA Symposium that will take place at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from June 19-23, 2006. Funds will be used to offer partial support for round-trip airfare and/or lodging for approximately 10 graduate students and/or postdocs. The LISA Symposium has historically provided a forum to bring together scientists interested in gravitational wave physics and astrophysics. Presentations on ground based gravitational wave detectors are included in the agenda to encourage participation by the whole gravitational wave community. This facilitates intellectual exchanges between the different sub-communities in order to advance the discovery and understanding in all areas of gravitational wave research. This will allow the LISA Symposium to help identify and establish collaborations between disciplines and institutions. Of particular importance are the collaborations between scientists working on the LISA and LIGO projects. Supporting travel for students to the Symposium will help build the next-generation of gravitational wave scientists. The presentations at the symposium and the published proceedings will make the research results available to the community. The associated public lecture will help disseminate the science to the general public.
