MERAC Prize for UofG astrophysicist
Published: 2 April 2026
A University of Glasgow astrophysicist has won a prestigious international prize in recognition of his gravitational wave and materials science research.
A University of Glasgow astrophysicist has won a prestigious international prize in recognition of his gravitational wave and materials science research.
The School of Physics and Astronomy’s Dr Graeme McGhee has received the 2026 MERAC Prize for the Best Doctoral Thesis in New Technologies (Multi‑messenger) for his work on pioneering mirror coating materials that suppress thermal noise in gravitational wave detectors, enhancing their discovery potential.
FONDATION MERAC (Mobilising European Research in Astrophysics and Cosmology) is a non-profit foundation started in 2012 with headquarters in Switzerland to recognise and support young European astronomers. Each year, three MERAC prizes are awarded by the European Astronomical Society.
Dr Graeme McGhee
Dr McGhee said: “I am both ecstatic and honoured to have my work recognised on such a prestigious international platform. This prize represents years of curiosity, persistence, and a strong belief that dedicating time to solve a problem, and better understand one small piece of the world, can make a difference.
“The thesis demonstrated key advances in optical technologies that can lead to great improvements in the next upgrades of gravitational wave observatories. Every new observation we make shows us that the Universe still holds more mysteries, while providing us with the clues to solve them — and that is what makes this work, and others like it, so meaningful.
“This honour also belongs to everyone who shaped my journey, challenged my thinking, and believed in the value of this research. My primary PhD supervisor Dr Iain Martin and my colleagues at the Institute for Gravitational Research provide an exceptional environment of collaboration, open ideas, and free discussion which has nurtured mine and so many others’ development as scientists. Going from the first telescopes to today’s astronomical instruments is a testament to what humanity can achieve together. This ethos of collaboration is fostered strongly at Glasgow as we tune our gravitational wave detectors to better hear the cosmic symphony.”
Dr McGhee earned a Master’s degree in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Glasgow in 2019, after which he obtained a PhD at Glasgow’s Institute for Gravitational Research, focusing on the challenging task of improving the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors. He won multiple competitive fellowships to launch collaborative projects at various institutions worldwide, to develop numerous state‑of‑the‑art high‑quality low‑loss optics. In addition to being awarded the MERAC prize, last year he was also awarded the UK Royal Astronomical Society’s best thesis prize in instrumental science.
Since 2024 he has been a post‑doctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow and a JSPS Fellow at the University of Toyama. He contributes to global efforts to improve the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors, working on LIGO and Virgo, and the future European Einstein Telescope.
While the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 opened a new window in astrophysics, the sensitivity of current detectors must be significantly increased to detect more distant, weaker, and perhaps as yet unrealised astronomical sources. Dr McGhee addressed the need for new technological advances for gravitational wave detectors.
Currently, the dominant noise source is the thermal noise of the mirror coatings, which induces vibrations on the molecular level. Dr McGhee investigated new mirror coating material candidates to improve the sensitivity of current detectors via a reduction in coating thermal noise. He launched a comprehensive study of novel titania‑doped‑silica mirror coatings, which cemented their efficacy as one of the most promising materials for future detectors. He also helped develop titania‑doped‑germania‑based highly reflective mirror coatings deposited with an improved defect‑free recipe, performing the first mechanical loss measurements of these to verify their thermal noise reduction. This material is of great interest for the very next gravitational‑wave detector upgrades. These studies have already inspired follow‑up investigations for the LIGO and Virgo scientific collaborations.
Dr McGhee is joined by his parents at his PhD graduation ceremony
Improved mirrors that provide greater sensitivity will allow us to observe merging neutron stars from further away than ever before, detect events from earlier in the history of the Universe, and make many more multi‑messenger observations. Such observations will provide further tests of general relativity, tighten constraints on the equation of state of neutron stars, and offer new cosmological insights into the expansion rate of the Universe.
The work was conducted at the University of Glasgow (Scotland), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (France), California Institute of Technology, and California State University Fullerton (USA).
First published: 2 April 2026