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Daniel Holz is an American physicist and cosmologist specializing in general relativity, astrophysics, and cosmology. He is a professor at the University of Chicago, affiliated with the Departments of Physics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics.

Holz has been recognized as a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In addition to his academic work, Holz is Chair of the Science and Security Board for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Education and career

Holz earned his Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Princeton University and his Doctor of Philosophy in Physics from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration and played a significant role in two discoveries: the first detection of gravitational waves in 2016 and the first multi-messenger detection of a binary neutron star in 2017.

At the University of Chicago, Holz also serves as the founding director of the Existential Risk Laboratory (XLab).

Research on black holes

Holz's research has shed light on black holes. As part of the LIGO collaboration, Holz contributed to the first detection of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime caused by the collision of two black holes. This discovery provided a way to observe the universe and the hidden dynamics of black hole mergers.

Holz emphasizes the paradox of human curiosity and vulnerability: “We explore the most distant edges of the universe, probing the mysteries of black holes and the Big Bang, while simultaneously risking the destruction of our own planet.”

Contributions

Holz's research is centered on gravitational waves, cosmology, and general relativity. He has received awards recognizing his contributions, including:

• The 2012 National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
• The 2015 Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
• The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2016, as part of the LIGO collaboration.

Selected publications

• Holz, D. E., & Wheeler, J. A. (2002). "Retro-MACHOs: PI in the Sky?" The Astrophysical Journal, 578(1), 330–334. doi:10.1086/342747.
• Holz, D. E., & Linder, E. V. (2005). "Safety in numbers: Gravitational lensing uncertainty in supernova distances." The Astrophysical Journal, 631(2), 678–688. doi:10.1086/432073.
• Holz, D. E., & Hughes, S. A. (2005). "Using gravitational-wave standard sirens." The Astrophysical Journal, 629(1), 15–22. doi:10.1086/431341.
• Abbott, B. P., et al. (Holz, D. E. contributing author). (2016). "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger." Physical Review Letters, 116(6), 061102. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102.
• Holz, D. E., & Wald, R. M. (1998). "A new measure of chaos in General Relativity." Physical Review D, 58(6), 064016. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.58.064016.

References

1. ^ "Daniel Holz – The University of Chicago". University of Chicago.
2. "Daniel Holz - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC)". Stanford University.
3. "A Voracious Black Hole at the Dawn of Time?". The New York Times. 21 February 2024.
4. "The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics | Daniel E. Holz". University of Chicago.
5. "Daniel Holz". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
6. "BLACK HOLES, THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK AND OTHER WEIGHTY MATTERS (PART 2) *HYBRID* - THU, OCT 17, 2024". www.princetonclubofchicago.org.
7. "LIGO Announces Detection of Gravitational Waves from Colliding…". Kavli Foundation (United States). 17 October 2017.
8. "Hearing the Thunder and Seeing the Lightning: A Gravitational Wave Detection of Colliding Neutron Stars - Dr. Daniel Holz (Public Lecture) | Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC)". kipac.stanford.edu.
9. "Daniel Holz - Department of Physics | The University of Chicago". University of Chicago.
10. "Daniel Holz". Science Friday.
11. "Black hole reverberations suggest the cosmic beasts are as 'bald' as cue balls". Science (journal).
12. Galchen, Rivka (3 June 2024). "Are We Doomed? Here's How to Think About It". The New Yorker.
13. Simon, Matt. "Humanity Is Doing Its Best Impression of a Black Hole". Wired (magazine).
14. "Black hole collisions could help us measure how fast the universe is expanding | University of Chicago News". news.uchicago.edu. 15 August 2022.
15. Fang, Eric. "Members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Discuss Doomsday Clock in Panel". The Chicago Maroon.
16. "Doomsday Clock says we're the closest we've been to apocalypse. We need to move faster". USA Today.
17. "NSF Award Search: Award # 0449884 - CAREER: Beyond Gravitational Wave Detection". National Science Foundation.
18. "Breakthrough Prize – Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize Laureates – Rainer Weiss and the LIGO Contributors". breakthroughprize.org.
19. "The Core: College Magazine of the University of Chicago". thecore.uchicago.edu.

• 21st-century American academics
• 21st-century American educators
• American physicists
• Fellows of the American Physical Society
• American cosmologists
• University of Chicago faculty
• Kavli Prize laureates
• Princeton University alumni
• University of Chicago alumni
• American scientists