Ibrahim Abouelfettouh

"I initially became interested in space during my upbringing in Cairo when the power would cut and I would go outside and look at the sky covered with stars. Now, I feel honored (although initially anxious) to be given the opportunity to operate the interferometer as it makes detections that add to the scientific community. Behind the scenes working on LIGO’s heavy suspensions, especially on fiber welding, opened (and is still opening) my eyes to the engineering and ingenuity required to achieve an interferometer of this scale, precision and success. Since moving away from a big city to work on-site at the relatively remote LIGO-Hanford 1 year ago, I've been trying to maximize the novelty in my free time through rotating new “trial” hobbies and rating them based on their “novelty" and “zest". I was involved in lots of social activities at university, and the monotony of living alone in a sparsely populated area doing a 9-5 was a big lifestyle change, but this list has helped keep me happy, curious and adventurous without the social infrastructure of a city (and so far I think I'm killing it)."

Ibrahim Abouelfettouh is a Detector Specialist at LIGO Hanford under the Detector Engineering team, where his prime focus is on LIGO’s heavy suspensions. His work centers on the QUAD Suspensions, the BBSS (Bigger Beam Splitter Suspension), Laser Fiber Welding and Control Room Detector Operation. His new hobby list extends from rock-climbing and roller-skating, to juggling and baking. He's also part of the LIGO-Hanford Wellness Committee, which plans monthly wellness events such as hiking trips, blood donation drives and movie nights.