Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

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The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) is a Max Planck Institute whose research is aimed at investigating Einstein’s theory of relativity and beyond: Mathematics, quantum gravity, astrophysical relativity, and gravitational wave astronomy. The Institute was founded in 1995 and is located in Potsdam (theoretical branch) and in Hannover (experimental branch).

The institute is involved in a number of collaborations and projects: The experimental branch is a main partner in the gravitational wave detector GEO 600; institute scientists are involved in analyzing data for the detectors of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and in planning and preparing the space-based detector LISA. The institute is also a major player in the Einstein@Home project.

[edit] Graduate Program

The institute participates in two International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). Such research schools are graduate programs run by Max Planck Institutes in partnership with local universities, offering a Ph.D. degree.

Since 2004, there is the IMPRS for Geometric Analysis, Gravitation and String Theory in partnership with Berlin's Free University and Humboldt University as well as the University of Potsdam.

The IMPRS on Gravitational Wave Astronomy is run in cooperation with the University of Hannover and the Laser Centre Hannover.