Professor Saulson will initiate a program of research in experimental gravitational physics concerning mechanical thermal noise. This effort is quite timely, since the spectrum of thermal noise of the test mass pendulums will likely be the limit of sensitivity of interferometric gravitational wave detectors, such as the proposed LIGO. Saulson's research program will have three main areas of emphasis. One will be a direct measurement of the thermal noise power spectrum in a test system that is damped by internal losses. A second area will be a set of tests of possible pendulum flexure materials. Finally, he will check proposed suspension designs for LIGO to verify that they show the expected low levels of losses. Applications to other gravitational experiments will also be explored.
