Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational
field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational
waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly
probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we
give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave
sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors,
data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking
runs of the LIGO and GEO projects.
