Leo Stein

Leo Stein is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Mississippi, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. He holds a B.S. from Caltech (2006) and a Ph.D. from MIT (2012). His research focuses on Einstein's theory of gravity, particularly using astrophysical observations to test general relativity through gravitational wave studies of black hole systems. He has contributed to numerical simulations and analytical modeling of black hole mergers, exploring theories beyond GR and their observational signatures.

Dr. Stein's expertise includes gravitational wave physics, numerical relativity, and post-Newtonian approximations. Key recognitions include the Sloan Research Fellowship (2023–25), NSF CAREER Award (2021–2026), and MIT's Henry Kendall Teaching Award (2011). His work bridges theoretical predictions with cutting-edge detector technology, aiming to advance fundamental physics through gravitational wave astronomy.

His teaching spans graduate and undergraduate courses in electromagnetism, mechanics, and gravitational physics. Stein’s research also involves developing open-source tools like GWSurrogate and collaborating with the SXS Collaboration for black hole simulations. Future directions include refining waveform models for next-generation detectors and probing modified gravity theories via merger signals.