David McClelland

David E. McClelland is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics at The Australian National University (ANU), jointly affiliated with the Research School of Physics and Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics. He has held academic roles at ANU since 1988, contributing to Australia's Partnership in Advanced LIGO and as Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav). His research focuses on gravitational wave detector technology, quantum optics, and high-precision sensing.

McClelland earned a BSc(Hons), MSc, and PhD from the University of Otago (New Zealand) before joining ANU. He has led over 40 research projects, including advanced detector development and cryogenic testing facilities, and has contributed to groundbreaking gravitational wave discoveries. Notable achievements include winning the Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Science in 2020 and pioneering quantum noise reduction techniques in LIGO observatories.

His recent work emphasizes next-generation gravitational wave observatories, squeezed light applications, and multi-messenger astronomy. Key projects include the Australian Gravitational Wave Observatory Initial Study and collaborations on cosmic explorer networks. Research interests span detector optimization, dark matter searches, and interferometric precision.