Conference: Multidisciplinary Science in the Multimessenger Era

Louisiana State University will organize and host a conference entitled “Multidisciplinary Science in the Multimessenger Era,” September 23-26, 2024. The conference will focus on the multidisciplinary aspect of multi-messenger astrophysics, being the study of the universe by combining information from light, gravity, neutrinos, cosmic rays, meteorites, and ocean sediments. This is one of the key focus areas of the Astro2020 Decadal, “Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s.” A goal of the workshop is to bring together interested subject matter experts who operate within and between the fields of Astrophysics, Gravitational Physics, Nuclear Science, Plasma Physics, Fluid Dynamics, Computational Physics, Particle Physics, and Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Science in order to understand how to maximize the scientific return of major and minor facilities, with a focus on those supported by the United States. Even within astrophysics itself, greater integration of theory and data analysis is required for progress. This meeting will deliver a white paper as well as recommendations for joint sessions at the Spring 2025 meeting of the American Physics Society. The portion of the workshop costs funded by the NSF will be used to reduce financial barriers to participation for scientists who may not otherwise be able to attend. Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scientists will help ensure the greatest scientific return of major NSF-supported facilities including the Vera Rubin Observatory, LIGO, IceCube, and other facilities across the electromagnetic spectrum including the proposed ngVLA. The conference is organized with several guiding sets of questions in mind: 1. What are the most important multidisciplinary questions of interest for time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics? 2. What are the key measurements? How can we leverage current and forthcoming facilities? Do we need new ones? For astrophysical observations, are additional coordination recommendations needed? 3. What advances are relevant for other fields of physics and national strategic priorities? 4. How can multidisciplinary research be fostered? Research in this area is a priority in multiple scientific disciplines, and it is important to ensure that the scientific community draws on the broadest set of individuals to solve these exceptionally difficult problems. The scientific organizing committee is comprised of a diverse set of scientists by gender, cultural background, scientific background, and geographic region. The organizers will target funding to support participation by scientists from underrepresented backgrounds, minority serving institutions, and early career researchers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.