A Wrinkle In Spacetime:~ Connecting Gravitational Waves and Albert Einstein with Blackfoot Culture

With a cast of characters including Albert Einstein, a pair of black holes, the Nobel Prize, and my mom, get the down low on a scientific event a century in the making (actually 1.3 billion years)!~ The first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 is a story which made history at the speed of light and changed the lives of many of us just as fast. My journey from a kid growing up outside of LA to working at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) has many chapters as all our lives do.~ I will share what it has been like to be a Niitsitapi (Native American) in physics by chronicling my undergrad experience in the redwoods of northern California, to working on a project which is now a part of history. Additionally, I will also talk about how a shy, quiet, and reluctant public speaker has learned to embrace science communication by connecting science with Blackfoot culture and forcing his mom to work with him!~ I will talk about why it is vitally important for all of us to share our story and to make science personal.