Kip Thorne is a Visionary

Back in 1984, Thorne was the leading founder of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). He also helped developed the instruments that were used to detect the gravitational waves that were caused more than a billion years ago by a couple of black holes colliding in space.

Thorne went to Caltech and Princeton where he became an astrophysicist that allowed him to pursue the cosmics. Kip, 75, had a critical role in creating the instruments that allowed him to confirm the prediction made by Albert Einstein on the general theory of relativity a century ago. However, he gives credit for the discovery or breakthrough to the young physicists that have run the project over the years.

According to Christopher Nolan, Thorne did much more than just help develop the instruments used in the project, he helped make the project happen. Thorne is able to both understand and communicate the reason behind the importance of space exploration and LIGO.

Right now he is doing scientific research and consulting for the film “interstellar,” by Christopher Nolan. He is considered one of the world leading experts in the area and Time magazine named him one of the “100 most influential people in the world.”

The masculine name Kip is taken from a nickname, probably derived from the English word kipper that means “male salmon”. There are many people with the name, from Kip Corrington the American collegiate football and NFL player to Kip Hanrahan the American jazz music impresario, percussionist and record producer.