iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We are going to have to vent the vacuum system in a couple of places for repairs. Today it was vent prep, and I was involved in one of its most glamorous aspects. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Mi niece Viole got mentioned in the competition organized by my alma mater Instituto Balseiro.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A friend of mine sends me this picture he took of me in Vienna in 1996. The "Subject:" line of his email: "The Kaiser and The King" 😀

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I devoted a corner of my new office to the Quantum Gravity in the Southern Cone meetings.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I moved into a new office and created a museum of technology. If you zoom in you can read the stories of the devices.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

When faced with the last few miles of the Petra race, the two runners next to me and I said almost in unison "you've got to be kidding me"...

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The quest for the seven continents continues! Finished the Petra (Jordan) ultra half 25k in 5h20m. Tough race. Still jet lagged, 35C in the blazing desert sun and a vertical gain of 700m in the last few miles. Fifth half marathon in fifth continent. Australia and Antarctica, here we come!

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Cleaning the office, I found this reflection by a student in an old exam I gave during my years at PennState. Note: a lot of people used to make fun of the degree in turfgrass management as "dumb" or "mowing the lawn". In reality it represents a highly developed $200B industry in the US.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The Y arm valves were opened and LIGO Livingston enters the commissioning phase for the next observing run. I couldn't find a picture of the Y arm valves, so here's a picture of me inside the Y-end 😀

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

220 years ago the British ship Justina was shelling Buenos Aires in an attempted invasion. Then the river dropped and Martin Miguel de Güemes (allegedly) with 60 gauchos charged the ship on horseback and took it.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I made myself a running shirt combining my two running clubs.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The series of conferences we started with Rodolfo Gambini, Victor Rivelles, Carmen Núñez and Jorge Zanelli 30 years ago is taking place in Chile in its 9th edition. qgsoutherncone.wixsite.com/ixqgsc

qgsoutherncone.wixsite.com

Introduction | IX QGSC

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

My United flight gave us a good view of Corpus...

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The partial upgrade started in December is over. Pumping down started at LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

We moved the cleanroom that was on top of BSC2 to BSC1. @ LIGO - Livingston.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Positioning the crane spreader bar to lift the cleanroom. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Another B&K hammer test. This time the suspensions were too small to install accelerometers, so we used the laser vibrometer (yellow). The green arrows show some of the vibration dampers I built a few weeks ago, they have installed them. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

LSU Chancellor visits LIGO Livingston. www.facebook.com/reel/1522133...

facebook.com

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The suspension we spent last semester building (green outline) is now installed in HAM6. The optics team has added a bunch of stuff on it and around it. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The installation of the suspension we built last semester is now complete. This requires rebalancing the active seismic isolation system it is built on (ISI), so it is within its allowed range. This is done by adding and removing masses, indicated by green arrows in the picture. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Topgunning a suspension. We spray suspensions and optics with ionized nitrogen. This blows off dust, but more importantly, it discharges potential buildups of static electricity, which attracts dust and creates other problems. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Installing the dome at the X end (accelerated video) @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The B&K hammer test. A sensor is placed on a structure and it is hit with a hammer also containing a sensor. Software then analyzes the resonances, modes and damping of the structure. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Installing back the door in the chamber that hosts the interior text mass Y (ITMY), called BSC1. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

LIGO jargon: "running a B&K test on a BRD". Brüel & Kjær sell the laser vibrometer (yellow) that it is being used to study the resonances of a Blade Resonance Damper that goes on the Bigger Beam Splitter Suspension (illuminated by the laser on the optical table). @ LIGO Livingston.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Lots of rain in Baton Rouge. Our flooded backyard is a favorite feeding place for egrets apparently.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Building more vibration dampers for the suspensions. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Installing the baffles in one of the inner test masses. They look shiny to us, but for the interferometer light they are quite absorbent. They catch stray light and prevent it from reflecting on the walls and other parts of the interferometer that are not isolated seismically. @ LIGO-Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

The Bigger Beam Splitter is fully assembled, cabled and in position and its active isolation system is balanced an ready for testing. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Raising the clean room that sits on the Beam Splitter Chamber (BSC2), now that it is installed. It had been lowered for installation. Each leg has an actuator (that yellow thing behind the curtain) and is controlled by the box visible in front. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Anamaria Effler and Gabriela González make empanadasaurs for the end of semester party of Gaby's LIGO group. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Using the autolevel on the keel of the active isolation system (ISI) that holds the Bigger Beam Splitter @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

The optical sensor electromagnetic actuators for the Bigger Beam Splitter are known as qosems. Because they were built in Australia, the electronic chassis that takes their readout bears a koala. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

The online seminar I have been running every two weeks for the last 20 years (yes, I was running an online seminar in 2006!) will now become the official seminars of the International Society on Loop Quantum Gravity.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

"The flight" of the Bigger Beam Splitter into its final position in the vertex of the interferometer. It is the first time in history an advanced interferometer had its beam splitter replaced. (Video credit: Michael F and Kwentin R).

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Final alignment of the Bigger Beam Splitter. We got it to 1 arc second of spec in pitch and 10 seconds in yaw. Tomorrow looks like it is going to be the big day! After two years of building it, the BBS will take its "flight" (that is what they call it) into the interferometer. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Inspecting the optic of the Bigger Beam Splitter. (I was mostly just holding the light later to get a better picture of potential imperfections). @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

In order to insert the optic usign the ErgoArm, we had to place the Bigger Beam Splitter facing the opening between the legs of the "white elephant" it is mounted on. But that is not the correct orientation. @ LIGO Livingston.

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Finished my harness training @ LIGO Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Picking up and installing the optic in the Bigger Beam Splitter using the "ErgoArm". @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Building dampers for the double suspensions. They are an enclosure with a metal cube inside held in place by o-rings. It behaves like a "mass and spring" system that damps vibrations in the structures it is attached to. @ LIGO - Livingston

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jorgepullin.bsky.social @jorgepullin.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

We rearranged the trim masses on the active seismic isolation system (ISI) to take into account the weight distribution of the new bigger beam splitter that is hanging from it. It was exhausting work, the masses are heavy and one is working overhead. @ LIGO - Livingston

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