This award supports the participation of scientists at the workshop "Gravitational Wave Bursts: Astrophysics, Data Analysis and Numerical Relativity" to be held in Chichen-Itza, Mexico in December 2009. Gravitational wave bursts are short signals with the potential of unveiling the broadest range of sources of gravitational radiation such as stellar core collapse, gamma-ray bursts engines, cosmic strings, compact object mergers. Gravitational wave bursts are challenging sources to study because their physics and gravitational wave emission mechanisms are not fully understood so that it is not now possible to model them in detail and thus to interpret observations. This interdisciplinary workshop brings together investigators in astrophysics, gravitational wave data analysis and numerical relativity with the goal of making gravitational wave burst observations become a genuine a tool of astronomical discovery. Results from this meeting could have an impact on the science from the enhanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory data run set to begin in July 2009.
