Gravitational-Wave Computing Software and Pipelines Workshop 2026
The HSF–India and IUCAA Joint 5-Day Computing Workshop aims to train Indian early-career researchers in the computational pipelines and software frameworks used in modern gravitational-wave data analysis. The workshop is primarily designed for PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members, with a limited number of master’s students interested in gravitational-wave astronomy, computational astrophysics, and large-scale scientific computing.
This workshop represents an important step in the human resource development efforts associated with LIGO-India. It builds on earlier national training initiatives, including the LIGO-India Computing Workshop held in September 2024 and the Instrumentation and Data Characterisation Workshops conducted at IUCAA in December 2025. By focusing on hands-on training in widely used analysis pipelines, the workshop seeks to strengthen India's research capacity in preparation for the upcoming LIGO-India detector and the broader international network of gravitational-wave observatories.
The workshop is designed to:
- Provide hands-on training in production-level gravitational-wave data analysis pipelines.
- Introduce participants to high-performance computing (HPC) and high-throughput computing (HTC) environments used in large-scale analyses.
- Develop computational skills required to contribute to LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA scientific analyses.
- Familiarise participants with modern Bayesian inference methods and search techniques.
Participants will work through guided tutorials, practical exercises, and example workflows that mirror real analysis pipelines used in current gravitational-wave research. The workshop will cover several key pipelines and analysis frameworks used in gravitational-wave astronomy, including:
- Compact Binary Coalescence Searches: Detection of signals from merging binary black holes and neutron stars using the PyCBC search pipeline.
- Parameter Estimation of Gravitational-Wave Transients and population inference: Methods to infer astrophysical properties of gravitational-wave sources from detected signals. Bayesian Inference of parameter and hyperparameter estimation of gravitational-wave sources using the Bilby framework, including population inference techniques.
- Burst Searches: Search and reconstruction techniques for unmodeled or weakly modelled transient gravitational-wave signals using Coherent Wave Burst (cWB)
- Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background Searches: Methods to detect the stochastic gravitational-wave background produced by unresolved astrophysical or cosmological sources.
Please note the following points very carefully:
- The workshop is open to all (PhD students, Postdoctoral Researchers, and faculty members, including a few master’s students).
- Limited to 35 seats (Selection-based). Selection would be informed by end of the last week of March' 2026.
- Only local hospitality will be taken care of by IUCAA and travel arrangements are expected to be borne by the participants.
- We have a small number of travel grants for Indian university students! To apply, please fill out the registration form and then send us a follow-up email with the mandatory tag ''[Travel Support]' at the start of the subject line. Please include your reference number (can be found in your registration confirmation email) in the body of the message. Be sure to mention if you are a student of an IUCAA Associate and if you have other means of supporting your travel.
- Registration last date is 21st March 2026.
