AstroAI Workshop 2026
Chayan Chatterjee
From Speech to Spacetime: Repurposing Audio Foundation Models for Gravitational Wave Detection
Presenter: Chayan Chatterjee (Vanderbilt University)
Title: From Speech to Spacetime: Repurposing Audio Foundation Models for Gravitational Wave Detection
Date/Time: Thursday, June 18, 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Abstract: As gravitational wave detectors become more advanced and sensitive, the number of signals recorded by Advanced LIGO and Virgo from merging compact objects is expected to rise dramatically. This surge in detection rates necessitates the development of adaptable, scalable, and efficient tools capable of addressing a wide range of tasks in gravitational wave astronomy. Foundation AI models present a transformative opportunity in this context by providing a unified framework that can be fine-tuned for diverse applications while leveraging the power of large-scale pre-training. In this talk, I will describe how pre-trained audio foundation models, specifically OpenAI’s Whisper, can be adapted for gravitational wave data analysis. By fine-tuning Whisper’s encoder model – originally trained on extensive audio data – we achieve reliable results in detecting gravitational wave signals and classifying transient noise artifacts or `glitches’. This represents the first cross-domain application of an open‑source audio transformer to gravitational wave research, demonstrating that models trained in one domain can be repurposed for versatile and efficient data analysis amid rising detection rates.