The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory is an ambitious project to detect astrophysical gravitational waves and to use them to study their sources. Past research colloquia here at LIGO's home have described the early visions for LIGO, the construction of the two remote 4 km long facilities, and the early commissioning of the detectors. In the past year, the LIGO interferometers have achieved their full design sensitivity and LIGO initiated its first major Science Run. This achievement and the prospects for detecting different sources in this initial search will be reported, as well as the plans for a second generation instrument that will qualitatively change the field. But if you are more interested in results to date, you should go to Nergis Mavalvala's Astronomy Colloquium next week.