Peter S. Shawhan received his Ph.D in physics in 1999 from the University of Chicago, where he worked on an experiment in high-energy physics at Fermilab. He then switched specialties and began work on gravitational-wave detection at the California Institute of Technology, where he is currently a staff scientist. Shawhan has contributed to several aspects of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, from software tools to detector characterization, and presently focuses on data analysis. Address: MS 18-34, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125. Internet: shawhan_p@ligo.caltech.edu