Georgia Mansell

Assistant Professor in Physics, Syracuse University

Hello and welcome to my website!

science_montage — Science montage of our group working at LIGO Hanford and on tabletop experiments at Syracuse University

Research

My research interests include:

Gravitational wave detectors and instrumentation
Optics
Interferometry
Quantum optics
Squeezed light
Control systems
Suspension design
Interferometer optical design
Mode matching and coupled cavities

I am an experimental physicist and my expertise is in gravitational wave detector instrumentation, commissioning, and squeezed states of light. My lab at Syracuse University focuses developing technologies for current and future gravitational-wave detectors, like cosmic explorer. Future gravitational wave detectors promise to have even greater sensitivity than the current generation. To achieve this they will need higher circulating power, which will require a next-generation thermal compensation system. In addition, improved quantum noise reduction schemes will be required. In my lab we work on tabletop experiments demonstrating these principles.

Selected publications

V. Srivastava, G. Mansell, C. Makarem, et al Piezo-deformable mirrors for active mode matching in advanced LIGO, Opt. Express 30, 10491-10501 (2022)

C. Cahillane, G. Mansell, D. Sigg, Laser frequency noise in next generation gravitational-wave detectors, Opt. Express 29, 42144-42161 (2021)

A. Buikema, C. Cahillane, G. Mansell, C. Blair, LIGO instrument scientists, Sensitivity and Performance of the Advanced LIGO Detectors in the Third Observing Run, Phys. Rev. D 102, 062003 (2020)

S. Biscans, S, Gras, C. Blair, J. Driggers, M. Evans, P. Fritschel, T. Hardwick, G. Mansell, Suppressing parametric instabilities in LIGO using low-noise acoustic mode dampers”, Phys. Rev. D 100, 122003 (2019)

G. Mansell, T. McRae, P. Altin, M. Yap, R. Ward, B. Slagmolen, D. Shaddock, and D. McClelland, Observation of Squeezed Light in the 2 um Region, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 203603 (2018)

A. Wade, G. Mansell, S. Chua, R. Ward, B. Slagmolen, D. Shaddock, D. McClelland, A squeezed light source operated under high vacuum, Scientific Reports 5, (2015) 18052

Group photos

Our group, trapped in an ellipse! Me, Trent Gayer, Jared Lee, Julia Rice, Owen Weisenberger, Chance D Jackson, Chris Lagomarsino, Emma Karlsson (front), absent: Mitchell Schiworski and Dheeraj Thakare. (June 2026)

Group pic, no imposters — Our group! Me, Mitchell Schiworski, Jared Lee, Trent Gayer, Julia Rice (June 2025)

group_pic — Our group! Me, Graeme Eddolls, Mitchell Schiworski, Jared Lee, Trent Gayer (really this time), Julia Rice (February 2025)

CV

Please find my latest CV here