A Montana State University graduate student has received a significant NASA grant to advance research on gravitational waves, which are ripples in space-time produced by events such as black hole or neutron star mergers. These waves, first predicted by Einstein in 1916 and directly detected for the first time in 2015, have since provided scientists with valuable information about their cosmic origins.
While higher-frequency gravitational waves have been observed from Earth, lower-frequency waves remain difficult to detect due to interference from seismic activity. The upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission is expected to address this gap by detecting longer-wavelength gravitational waves when it launches in the next decade.
Ethan McKeever, a second-year doctoral student in MSU’s Department of Physics, was recently awarded a $150,000 Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science (FINESST) grant. The FINESST program is one of NASA’s most competitive funding opportunities for graduate students; only 24 proposals were selected out of 456 applications for 2025 in the astrophysics division.
Hang Yu, assistant professor of physics at MSU and McKeever’s faculty adviser, said: “Ethan is an exceptionally well-prepared student to conduct research in astrophysics. In his first year, he already started a research project investigating the detectability of nova-like explosions by the upcoming LISA mission, a topic we proposed to FINESST. I am confident that Ethan will have a productive and successful career at MSU with the support of the FINESST award.”
McKeever’s research focuses on studying how nova explosions—thermonuclear events triggered when white dwarf stars accumulate material from companion stars—affect gravitational wave signals. He said: “I’m excited to figure out what the wave signatures from that are going to look like.”
For their project, McKeever and Yu will generate simulated data reflecting various gravitational wave frequencies and introduce noise to replicate real-world conditions. They aim to match these simulations with known waveforms and consider factors such as binary star interactions and other nearby celestial influences.
The team believes that identifying unique waveform signatures now will be important once LISA begins collecting data in the mid-2030s. LISA is expected to detect tens of thousands of compact white dwarf binaries across the Milky Way through gravitational waves—far more than can currently be observed using optical telescopes.
McKeever chose Montana State University for its reputation in gravitational research after earning his undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia. He noted: “There’s a nice mix of research at MSU. I’m excited to dive more into mass transferring binaries and more theoretical modeling.”
