- Speaker
-
Vicky Kalogera, Ph.D.Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University
The 2026 lecture series in physics is “Black Holes.” Through observational breakthroughs and theoretical advances, this series will explore black holes across scale — from stellar remnants to the supermassive giants at the center of galaxies. Topics will include high-resolution imaging, gravitational wave signals, the black hole information paradox and analogs of black holes in fluids on Earth. These lectures will illuminate how black holes offer a window into fundamental physics and provide a lens for understanding the universe’s most extreme environments.
2026 Lecture Series Themes
Biology – Folding the Future: The Structural Biology Revolution
Mathematics and Computer Science – Randomness
Neuroscience and Autism Science – Brain and Body: Communication and Connection
Presidential Lectures are a series of free public colloquia spotlighting groundbreaking research across four themes: neuroscience and autism science, physics, biology, and mathematics and computer science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are designed to foster discussion and drive discovery within the New York City research community. We invite those interested in these topics to join us for this weekly lecture series.
In just one decade, gravitational-wave observatories have transformed black holes from theoretical curiosities into astrophysical laboratories. Observations of merging black holes now probe stellar evolution, compact-object formation and the environments in which binaries form and evolve, offering a data-driven view of how massive stars live, interact and ultimately collapse.
In this Presidential Lecture, Vicky Kalogera will examine how gravitational-wave observations constrain the masses and spins of merging black holes and what these measurements imply about the black holes’ astrophysical origins. Population-level inferences point to multiple formation channels and encode the imprint of massive stellar evolution, binary interactions and core collapse. The talk will place these results in the context of a growing multi-messenger picture and discuss how they are shaping an emerging, physically grounded understanding of black-hole formation. Finally, Kalogera will briefly describe how new computational and AI-enabled approaches are expanding the scope and reach of theoretical modeling of stars and compact objects, transforming future population studies.
About the Speaker
Kalogera’s research focuses on the formation and evolution of compact objects as electromagnetic and gravitational-wave sources. Her work spans modeling, population inference and the development of data-analysis methods for extracting physical information from gravitational waves and detector characterization. She is a senior member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and recently chaired a national committee guiding the future of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors in the U.S. Kalogera directs the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the NSF–Simons National AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI Institute). Among her honors are the Bethe and Heineman Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship and fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Astronomical Society and the American Physical Society. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.