Goodbye Andrzej Trautman

We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Andrzej Trautman, one of the pioneers of gravitational wave theory and a leading figure in mathematical relativity, who died on February 27, 2026 at the age of 93.

In 1958, as a young scientist, he demonstrated that gravitational waves are not merely mathematical artifacts of Einstein’s equations, but real physical phenomena capable of carrying energy and information. These works, later complemented by the famous Robinson-Trautman solutions describing radiating gravitational waves, became one of the essential theoretical foundations that later enabled the development of gravitational-wave detectors such as LIGO and Virgo, ultimately leading to the historic first detection of gravitational waves.

Trautman carried out most of his scientific career at the University of Warsaw, where he worked at the Institute of Theoretical Physics from 1961 until 2004. His scientific path also included important international collaborations and research visits, notably to Syracuse University, where he worked with Ivor Robinson, Roger Penrose, and Peter Bergmann, to Stony Brook University at the invitation of Chen-Ning Yang and King’s College London. He maintained particularly close ties with SISSA in Trieste, where as a visiting professor he contributed to the development of the European elite of mathematical physics. Trautman also served the broader scientific community through his work with the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he was a full member and Vice President from 1978 to 1980, and through his long-standing involvement in international scientific institutions.

In later years, Trautman devoted much of his research to the geometric foundations of field theory, exploring deep connections between gravity, particle physics, and differential geometry, including important work on Yang–Mills field theory, group theory and fiber bundles.

Beyond his scientific achievements, Professor Trautman was deeply committed to teaching and mentoring. He founded the Polish school of relativity at the University of Warsaw and played a central role in shaping generations of researchers in gravitational physics. His lectures were widely admired for their clarity and intellectual depth, inspiring many leading physicists.

His passing marks the end of an era in theoretical physics, but the intellectual legacy he leaves behind continues to shape our understanding of gravity and the structure of the Universe.