This proposal requests support for continued research on laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors. The goals of this program are: (1) to demonstrate the technical feasibility of this concept through the construction of extremely sensitive laboratory prototype receivers and, (2) to undertake preliminary planning and cost analysis for full scale detectors which are 100 times larger. This joint undertaking of the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is based on laser interferometer systems. The ultimate goals of this program include definitive tests of Einstein's theory of gravitation and the opening of a new observational window onto the universe.
