The Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGN) successfully hosted the international discussion meeting, “10 Years of Gravitational Wave Discovery: Advancing the Frontiers of Gravitational Physics,” from October 6 to 10, 2025. The event commemorated the 10th anniversary of the historic detection of gravitational waves (GWs) in 2015, a milestone that confirmed a century-old prediction of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and transformed our understanding of the universe.
The five-day meeting brought together over thirty distinguished scientists from India and around the world, fostering high-level discussions on the latest advances in gravitational physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. The event featured technical seminars, interactive discussions, and a special session on the LIGO-India initiative, highlighting India’s growing role in the global gravitational-wave network.
Bruce Allen (Max Planck Institute, Germany) delivered a personal recount of the LIGO journey leading up to the landmark GW150914 detection, sharing insights into the challenges and breakthroughs in gravitational-wave detection. K.G. Arun (CMI, India) discussed the challenges and prospects of testing General Relativity with gravitational waves. Tarun Souradeep (RRI Bengaluru) showcased the plans for an upcoming CMB Bharat space mission to measure subtle signatures of polarization of the light coming from the Big Bang. Talks by Indian researchers, including Sayak Datta, Sumanta Chakraborty, Kabir Chakravarti, Avijit Chowdhury, Apratim Ganguly, Rajes Ghosh, Shivaraj Kandhasamy, Sanjit Mitra, and others, explored cutting-edge topics such as dark matter environments around black holes, extreme mass ratio inspirals, tidal heating effects, gravitational lensing biases, and advanced data analysis techniques.
On October 8, a dedicated session highlighted the progress of the LIGO-India project, featuring contributions from national experts, including Suresh Doravari, IUCAA, Pune, Subroto Mukherjee, IPR, Ahmedabad, Sameer Jadhav, DCSEM, Mumbai, and Yogesh Verma, RRCAT, Indore. A special colloquium by Sanjit Mitra, IUCAA, Puneshowcased India’s upcoming role in the global gravitational-wave network. International participants, including Maria Alessandra Papa (Germany), Thomas Sotiriou (UK), Alexander Nitz (USA), Andrea Maselli (Italy), and David Hilditch (Portugal), engaged in discussions on next-generation detectors, precision waveform modelling, and novel astrophysical tests of gravity.
“GW@10 wasn’t about looking back – it was about what comes next. The energy around LIGO-India was incredible, and you could feel a real sense of ownership in the community. It’s clear that India is ready to play a leading role in this global adventure,” said Prof Anand Sengupta, organising committee of the event, IITGN.
“This conference marks a significant milestone, celebrating a decade of remarkable breakthroughs in gravitational-wave astronomy and charting India’s role in the next era of cosmic discovery. Gravitational-wave observations provide one of the most powerful tests of Einstein’s general relativity, and any sign of deviation from this century-old theory would be as revolutionary as Einstein’s own discovery a hundred years ago. IIT Gandhinagar is proud to host this meeting that embodies the spirit of scientific curiosity and international collaboration,” expressed Prof Sudipta Sarkar.
The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) is one of India’s premier institutions of higher education and research, known for its interdisciplinary approach, innovative pedagogy, and strong focus on global collaborations. The Institute continues to host events that foster dialogue among leading scientists and promote cutting-edge research across disciplines.