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Watson Lecture: "Photosynthesis: A Planetary Revolution"
11/17/2014

Watson Lecture: "Photosynthesis: A Planetary Revolution"

Douglas Smith
Two and a half billion years ago, single-celled organisms called cyanobacteria harnessed sunlight to split water molecules, producing energy to power their cells and releasing oxygen into an atmosphere that had previously had none. These early environmental engineers are responsible for the life we see around us today, and much more besides. At 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19, in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium, Professor of Geobiology Woodward "Woody" Fischer will describe how they transformed the planet. Admission is free.
Sun shining through a leaf
Caltech Rocket Experiment Finds Surprising Cosmic Light
11/06/2014

Caltech Rocket Experiment Finds Surprising Cosmic Light

Kathy Svitil
Using an experiment carried into space on a NASA suborbital rocket, astronomers at Caltech and their colleagues have detected a diffuse cosmic glow that appears to represent more light than that produced by known galaxies in the universe.
CIBER Launch
Using Simulation and Optimization to Cut Wait Times for Voters
11/03/2014

Using Simulation and Optimization to Cut Wait Times for Voters

Jessica Stoller-Conrad
By developing a tool to help better prepare polling places, Caltech sophomore Sean McKenna is hoping to minimize the amount of time we spend in line at the polls.
No Galaxy Too Small: An Interview with Evan Kirby
10/31/2014

No Galaxy Too Small: An Interview with Evan Kirby

Douglas Smith
"I study the smallest galaxies we know about...These galaxies are interesting because they are part of our cosmic story. The first galaxies to form were small ones, and over time they got smashed together to build up bigger ones."
Evan Kirby, Caltech assistant professor of astronomy
A Newborn Supernova Every Night
10/16/2014

A Newborn Supernova Every Night

Douglas Smith
A new camera is being built at Caltech's Palomar Observatory that will be able to survey the entire Northern Hemisphere sky in a single night, searching for supernovas, black holes, near-Earth asteroids, and other objects.
Supernova 2011fe
Getting To Know Super-Earths
10/15/2014

Getting To Know Super-Earths

Kimm Fesenmaier
Results from NASA's Kepler planet-hunting mission have indicated that the most common planets in the galaxy are super-Earths—those that are bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. Heather Knutson and her colleagues are using space telescopes to try to find out more about these worlds.
Remembering Tom Tombrello
10/14/2014

Remembering Tom Tombrello

Douglas Smith
Thomas Anthony Tombrello, Caltech's Robert H. Goddard Professor of Physics, passed away on September 23, 2014, at age 78. His studies of nuclear reactions in the 1960s helped show how chemical elements are created.
Tom Tombrello
Watson Lecture: Quantum States of Matter in Crystals
10/13/2014

Watson Lecture: Quantum States of Matter in Crystals

Douglas Smith
David Hsieh, an assistant professor of physics at Caltech, is searching for new forms of matter that exhibit weird quantum properties in bulk. Find out the why, where, and how at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium. Admission is free.
crystal
Remembering Gerry Neugebauer
10/08/2014

Remembering Gerry Neugebauer

Kathy Svitil
Gerry Neugebauer, Caltech's Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Physics, Emeritus, passed away on September 26, 2014, of complications from spinocerebellar ataxia, a neurodegenerative disease. He was 82.
Caltech Physics Professors Earn NASA Medals
10/08/2014

Caltech Physics Professors Earn NASA Medals

Douglas Smith
Jamie Bock, professor of physics at Caltech and a senior research scientist at JPL, and Caltech Professor of Physics Christopher Martin were among those receiving NASA Honor Awards in a ceremony on Tuesday, September 16.
Jamie Bock and Chris Martin