Burnsville computer company, U scientist had roles in gravitational waves discovery

A Burnsville computer company and University of Minnesota scientist both had roles in the groundbreaking discovery of gravitational waves, announced last week.

The discovery came a century after Albert Einstein first predicted such ripples should exist.

The gravitational waves were detected early Sept. 14, 2015, by both of the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, located in Louisiana and Washington state.

The University of Minnesota became a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in 2007, when Vuk Mandic joined the School of Physics and Astronomy in the University's College of Science and Engineering.

The discovery was also facilitated by Nor-Tech, a Burnsville computer company.

Click the audio players above to hear more from Mandic and David Bollig, CEO of Nor-Tech.