LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) - The laboratory in Livingston Parish where gravitational waves were first detected will be designated as a historic site next month.

The Advocate reports the American Physical Society will add the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory to its list of places where significant discoveries in the physics field were made. The experiments have yielded proof of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and are now helping scientists locate black holes in the universe.

Three physicists behind the project were awarded the Nobel Prize last year. William Katzman, the lab's program leader, says LIGO would be the only such site in Louisiana. There are 40 others on the existing list.

Katzman compared the designation to the National Historic Register. He says a ceremony will be held June 20.