Bruce Allen (physicist)

Allen graduated from Wayland High School, Wayland, Massachusetts, US, in 1976.{{Cite web |title=Alumni List |url=https://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=1036435&pageId=3143105 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225130542/https://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=1036435&pageId=3143105 |archive-date=2025-02-25 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.wayland.k12.ma.us |language=en-US}} He obtained his Bachelor of Science in physics in 1980 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Rainer Weiss. Allen completed his PhD in physics in 1984 at University of Cambridge with his thesis “Vacuum Energy and General Relativity” under the supervision of Stephen Hawking.{{Cite web |title=Bruce Allen - The Mathematics Genealogy Project |url=https://www.mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=89437&fChrono=1 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.mathgenealogy.org}}{{Cite web |title=Vacuum energy and general relativity {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://search.worldcat.org/de/title/555854907 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=search.worldcat.org |language=de}} From 1983 to 1985 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara and from 1985 to 1986 at Tufts University. From 1986 to 1987 he was a chercheur associé (research associate) at Paris Observatory in Meudon.

In 1987 Allen became a research assistant professor at Tufts University. He joined the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1989 as assistant professor of physics, was promoted to associate professor of physics in 1992 and to a full professor of physics in 1997. In 2007 he became a director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Hanover, Germany and an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Since 2008 he is also a honorary professor of physics at Leibniz University Hannover.{{Cite web |title=Allen, Bruce |url=https://www.mpg.de/423407/gravitational-physics-hanover-allen |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.mpg.de |language=en}}

Allen has worked on early universe cosmology, inflationary models of the early universe,{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=B. |date=1988-04-15 |title=Stochastic gravity-wave background in inflationary-universe models |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.37.2078 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=37 |issue=8 |pages=2078–2085 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.37.2078|pmid=9958909 |bibcode=1988PhRvD..37.2078A |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-5D80-2 |hdl-access=free }} properties of de Sitter space,{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Bruce |date=1985-12-15 |title=Vacuum states in de Sitter space |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.32.3136 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=32 |issue=12 |pages=3136–3149 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.32.3136|pmid=9956107 |bibcode=1985PhRvD..32.3136A |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-5E01-B |hdl-access=free }} and curved-space quantum field theory. He further worked on networks of cosmic strings{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=B. |last2=Shellard |first2=E. P. S. |date=1990-01-08 |title=Cosmic-string evolution: A numerical simulation |url=https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.64.119 |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=119–122 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.64.119|pmid=10041655 |bibcode=1990PhRvL..64..119A |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-5CE7-6 |hdl-access=free }} and the gravitational radiation emitted by them.{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=B. |last2=Shellard |first2=E. P. S. |date=1992-03-15 |title=Gravitational radiation from cosmic strings |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.45.1898 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=45 |issue=6 |pages=1898–1912 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.45.1898|pmid=10014565 |bibcode=1992PhRvD..45.1898A |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-5CA7-3 |hdl-access=free }} He made contributions to the detection and data analysis of gravitational waves of different types: from a stochastic background,{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Bruce |last2=Romano |first2=Joseph D. |date=1999-03-31 |title=Detecting a stochastic background of gravitational radiation: Signal processing strategies and sensitivities |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.59.102001 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=59 |issue=10 |pages=102001 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.59.102001|arxiv=gr-qc/9710117 |bibcode=1999PhRvD..59j2001A }} from inspiraling compact binaries,{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Bruce |last2=Anderson |first2=Warren G. |last3=Brady |first3=Patrick R. |last4=Brown |first4=Duncan A. |last5=Creighton |first5=Jolien D. E. |date=2012-06-19 |title=FINDCHIRP: An algorithm for detection of gravitational waves from inspiraling compact binaries |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.85.122006 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=85 |issue=12 |pages=122006 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.85.122006|arxiv=gr-qc/0509116 |bibcode=2012PhRvD..85l2006A }} and continuous, near-sinusoidal signals.{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Bruce |last2=Papa |first2=Maria Alessandra |last3=Schutz |first3=Bernard F. |date=2002-11-27 |title=Optimal strategies for sinusoidal signal detection |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.66.102003 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=66 |issue=10 |pages=102003 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.66.102003|arxiv=gr-qc/0206032 |bibcode=2002PhRvD..66j2003A |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-0F3B-4 }} Allen was a member of the executive committee of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration from 1997 to 2018. He also worked on designing a runtime system for volunteer computing,{{Cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=David P. |last2=Christensen |first2=Carl |last3=Allen |first3=Bruce |chapter=Grid resource management---Designing a runtime system for volunteer computing |date=2006-11-11 |title=Proceedings of the 2006 ACM/IEEE conference on Supercomputing - SC '06 |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1188455.1188586 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=126–es |doi=10.1145/1188455.1188586 |isbn=978-0-7695-2700-0}} and on using the Einstein@Home project to discover new radio{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=B. |last2=Knispel |first2=B. |last3=Cordes |first3=J. M. |last4=Deneva |first4=J. S. |last5=Hessels |first5=J. W. T. |last6=Anderson |first6=D. |last7=Aulbert |first7=C. |last8=Bock |first8=O. |last9=Brazier |first9=A. |last10=Chatterjee |first10=S. |last11=Demorest |first11=P. B. |last12=Eggenstein |first12=H. B. |last13=Fehrmann |first13=H. |last14=Gotthelf |first14=E. V. |last15=Hammer |first15=D. |date=2013-07-29 |title=THE EINSTEIN@HOME SEARCH FOR RADIO PULSARS AND PSR J2007+2722 DISCOVERY |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/773/2/91 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=773 |issue=2 |pages=91 |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/773/2/91 |arxiv=1303.0028 |bibcode=2013ApJ...773...91A |issn=0004-637X}}{{Cite journal |last1=Knispel |first1=B. |last2=Eatough |first2=R. P. |last3=Kim |first3=H. |last4=Keane |first4=E. F. |last5=Allen |first5=B. |last6=Anderson |first6=D. |last7=Aulbert |first7=C. |last8=Bock |first8=O. |last9=Crawford |first9=F. |last10=Eggenstein |first10=H.-B. |last11=Fehrmann |first11=H. |last12=Hammer |first12=D. |last13=Kramer |first13=M. |last14=Lyne |first14=A. G. |last15=Machenschalk |first15=B. |date=2013-08-20 |title=EINSTEIN@HOME DISCOVERY OF 24 PULSARS IN THE PARKES MULTI-BEAM PULSAR SURVEY |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/774/2/93 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=774 |issue=2 |pages=93 |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/774/2/93 |arxiv=1302.0467 |bibcode=2013ApJ...774...93K |issn=0004-637X}} and gamma-ray pulsars{{Cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=C. J. |last2=Wu |first2=J. |last3=Pletsch |first3=H. J. |last4=Guillemot |first4=L. |last5=Allen |first5=B. |last6=Aulbert |first6=C. |last7=Beer |first7=C. |last8=Bock |first8=O. |last9=Cuéllar |first9=A. |last10=Eggenstein |first10=H. B. |last11=Fehrmann |first11=H. |last12=Kramer |first12=M. |last13=Machenschalk |first13=B. |last14=Nieder |first14=L. |date=2017-01-10 |title=The Einstein@Home Gamma-Ray Pulsar Survey. I. Search Methods, Sensitivity, and Discovery of New Young Gamma-Ray Pulsars |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=834 |issue=2 |pages=106 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/106 |doi-access=free |arxiv=1611.01015 |bibcode=2017ApJ...834..106C |issn=0004-637X}}{{Cite journal |last1=Nieder |first1=L. |last2=Clark |first2=C. J. |last3=Kandel |first3=D. |last4=Romani |first4=R. W. |last5=Bassa |first5=C. G. |last6=Allen |first6=B. |last7=Ashok |first7=A. |last8=Cognard |first8=I. |last9=Fehrmann |first9=H. |last10=Freire |first10=P. |last11=Karuppusamy |first11=R. |last12=Kramer |first12=M. |last13=Li |first13=D. |last14=Machenschalk |first14=B. |last15=Pan |first15=Z. |date=2020-10-01 |title=Discovery of a Gamma-Ray Black Widow Pulsar by GPU-accelerated Einstein@Home |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=902 |issue=2 |pages=L46 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/abbc02 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2009.01513 |bibcode=2020ApJ...902L..46N |issn=2041-8205}} in data from large radio telescopes and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. He has also worked data analysis for pulsar timing arrays. This includes research on the variance of the Hellings-Downs correlation,{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Bruce |date=2023-02-15 |title=Variance of the Hellings-Downs correlation |url=https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.107.043018 |journal=Physical Review D |volume=107 |issue=4 |pages=043018 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.107.043018|arxiv=2205.05637 |bibcode=2023PhRvD.107d3018A }}{{Cite journal |last1=Romano |first1=J D |last2=Allen |first2=B |date=2024-09-05 |title=Answers to frequently asked questions about the pulsar timing array Hellings and Downs curve |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/ad4c4c |journal=Classical and Quantum Gravity |volume=41 |issue=17 |pages=175008 |doi=10.1088/1361-6382/ad4c4c |arxiv=2308.05847 |bibcode=2024CQGra..41q5008R |issn=0264-9381}} which is a central measure for the detection of gravitational waves with pulsar timing arrays.

Between 1987 and 2018, Bruce Allen's research has been supported by the US National Science Foundation through 14 grants totaling approximately $10 million.

• 2020 Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science{{Cite web |title=APS 2020 Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science for Bruce Allen and Bernard Schutz |url=https://www.aei.mpg.de/78158/aps-2020-richard-a-isaacson-award-in-gravitational-wave-science-for-bruce-allen-and-bernard-schutz |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.aei.mpg.de |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science |url=https://www.aps.org/funding-recognition/award/isaacson |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.aps.org |language=en}}
• 2017 Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society (as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration){{Cite web |title=HEAD AAS Rossi Prize Winners {{!}} High Energy Astrophysics Division |url=https://head.aas.org/rossi/rossi.recip.html#2017_gg |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=head.aas.org}}
• 2017 Group Achievement Award of the Royal Astronomical Society (as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration){{Cite web |last=Simion @Yonescat |first=Florin |title=Group Award (A) |url=https://ras.ac.uk/awards-and-grants/awards/2269-group-award-a |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=The Royal Astronomical Society |language=en}}
• 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research (as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration){{Cite news |title=Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne, Barry C. Barish and la Colaboración Científica Ligo |url=https://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2017-rainer-weiss-kip-s-thorne-barry-c-barish-and-la-colaboracion-cientifica-ligo/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241203000921/https://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2017-rainer-weiss-kip-s-thorne-barry-c-barish-and-la-colaboracion-cientifica-ligo/ |archive-date=2024-12-03 |access-date=2025-02-25 |language=en}}
• 2017 Albert Einstein Medal (as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration){{Cite web |date=2017-06-25 |title=einstein house bern > news |url=https://www.einstein-bern.ch/index.php?lang=en&show=aktuell |access-date=2025-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625082945/https://www.einstein-bern.ch/index.php?lang=en&show=aktuell |archive-date=June 25, 2017 }}
• 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration){{Cite web |title=Breakthrough Prize – Special Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics Awarded For Detection Of Gravitational Waves 100 Years After Albert Einstein Predicted Their Existence |url=https://breakthroughprize.org/News/32 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=breakthroughprize.org |language=en}}
• 2016 Gruber Cosmology Prize (as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration){{Cite web |title=2016 Gruber Cosmology Prize {{!}} Gruber Foundation |url=https://gruber.yale.edu/prize/2016-gruber-cosmology-prize |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=gruber.yale.edu}}
• 2016 Lower Saxony State Prize 2016 (shared with Alessandra Buonanno and Karsten Danzmann){{cite web |date=May 31, 2016 |title=Niedersächsischer Staatspreis 2016 geht an Physiker aus Hannover |url=https://www.stk.niedersachsen.de/startseite/presseinformationen/niedersaechsischer-staatspreis-2016-geht-an-physiker-aus-hannover-144151.html |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=Nds. Staatskanzlei |language=de |ref={{sfnref | Nds. Staatskanzlei | 2016}}}}{{Cite web |title=Lower Saxony State Prize was awarded to Bruce Allen, Alessandra Buonanno and Karsten Danzmann |url=https://www.aei.mpg.de/195120/verleihung-niedersaechsischer-staatspreis |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.aei.mpg.de |language=en}}
• 2005 Elected Fellow, American Physical Society{{Cite web |title=APS Fellows Archive |url=https://www.aps.org/funding-recognition/aps-fellowship?award_fellowship%5Bquery%5D=Allen |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.aps.org |language=en}}
• 2004 Elected Fellow, Institute of Physics (UK)
• 2002–03 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
• 1997 University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Graduate School Research Award
• 1990 First Prize, Gravity Research Foundation{{Cite web |title=Gravity Research Foundation |url=https://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/award-winners-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226084115/https://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/award-winners-1 |archive-date=2025-02-26 |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Gravity Research Foundation, abstracts of award winning and honorable mention essays (1990) |language=en-US}}
• 1981 Knight Prize, University of Cambridge
• 1980–82 Marshall Scholar, University of Cambridge{{Cite web |title=Marshall Scholar Alumni by Year from Association of Marshall Scholars |url=https://marshallscholars.org/alumni-by-year |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226084752/https://marshallscholars.org/alumni-by-year |archive-date=2025-02-26 |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Association of Marshall Scholars |language=en-US}}
• 1980 Phi Beta Kappa, MIT

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Bruce Allen (Physicist)}}

• [http://www.lsc-group.phys.uwm.edu/~ballen/ Bruce Allen faculty page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171752/http://www.lsc-group.phys.uwm.edu/~ballen/ |date=March 3, 2016 }} at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
• {{cite web | title=Prof. Bruce Allen Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) | date=April 25, 2023 | url=https://www.aei.mpg.de/person/23726/182193 | access-date=July 16, 2023}}

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Category:1959 births

Category:21st-century American astronomers

Category:American expatriates in Germany

Category:Living people

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni

Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge

Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni

Category:Tufts University faculty

Category:University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty

Category:Fellows of the Institute of Physics

Category:Marshall Scholars

Category:20th-century American physicists

Category:21st-century American physicists

Category:Wayland High School alumni

Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society

Category:Max Planck Institute directors