Nelson Christenson, George H. and Marjorie F. Dixon Professor of Physics, is the recipient of a $210,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to do Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) astronomy research. His three-year project “RUI: Parameter Estimation, Data Analysis, and Detector Characterization for LIGO” continues the international collaborative analyses of data in search of gravitational wave signals, including signals from massive black hole systems and supernova produced signals. As many as six undergraduate researchers will apply novel statistical strategies to parameter estimation and data analysis, and identify detector disturbances for Advanced LIGO.