Animation major helps CSUF scientists envision black holes, future technology – Orange County Register


Animation major helps CSUF scientists envision black holes, future technology – Orange County Register

Vikki Brown remembers when her animation professor asked if she was interested in working with scientists at Cal State Fullerton on black hole and gravitational wave research.

“He said, ‘Are you into that?’ and I said, ‘Sure. I don’t know what it means, but it sounds cool,’” said Brown, a senior animation major and computer science minor who had been focusing mostly on 3D designs and video game projects.

That was in March 2018. And now the 22-year-old is the resident artist for the Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Center — a first for the center.

In her role she has taken gravitational wave data from students and transformed it into a 3D simulation of a neutron star being sucked into a black hole and disappearing.

She is also helping GWPAC scientists visualize the Cosmic Explorer, the next-generation gravitational wave detector that will be 10 times bigger and 10 times more sensitive than current detectors.

CSUF is part of LIGO, an international collaboration with more than 1,000 members around the world. LIGO’s observations are carried out by twin detectors in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, and are operated by Caltech and MIT.

Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time that travel at the speed of light, stretching and squeezing the distances between things in their path. They open up a new field of astronomy where scientists can use gravity to see objects like black holes, neutron stars and supernova explosions.

Brown, who was more familiar with software used in Disney and Pixar films, trained herself in the use of the software needed to create a 3D rendering of the proposed new detector that will have arms with lasers that stretch 40 kilometers, roughly the length of Chicago from north to south. The lasers bounce back and forth to measure the gravitational waves.

The rendering is a work in progress, she said. She also plans to help design the logo for the project.

“It’s been interesting,” Brown said. “The first couple of meetings, everything just flew over my head. I did not understand what anyone was talking about. But over time, as I asked questions, I got more of it.”


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