Hai-Ping Cheng 

Sponsor: Stanford/Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Mirror Coatings for Next-Generation Gravitational-Wave Detectors: A Path to Discovery 

Dr. Hai-Ping Cheng is developing better materials for ultra-precise optical instruments used in space-based research. Her team uses computer simulations and artificial intelligence to understand how tiny impurities affect the performance of optical coatings, and to design new materials with improved properties. This work supports next-generation gravitational wave detectors and other sensitive laser-based scientific instruments.