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12/20/2006

New Type of Black-Hole Explosion Has Astrophysicists Wondering About Its Origin

Robert Tindol

Scientists are announcing this week their detection of a June 14 gamma-ray burst that probably signals a hitherto undetected type of cosmic explosion. The hybrid gamma-ray burst probably created a new black hole, but the details of how the explosion occurred are unclear.

12/12/2006

Physicists Set New Record for Network Data Transfer

Robert Tindol

An international team of physicists, computer scientists, and network engineers led by the California Institute of Technology, CERN, and the University of Michigan and partners at the University of Florida and Vanderbilt, as well as participants from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro State University, UERJ, and the State Universities of São Paulo, USP and UNESP) and Korea (Kyungpook National University, KISTI) joined forces to set new records for sustained data transfer between storage systems during the SuperComputing 2006 (SC06) Bandwidth Challenge (BWC).

10/20/2006

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Awards $24 Million to Caltech for Three Projects

Robert Tindol

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded three grants totaling $24 million to the California Institute of Technology for projects in cosmology, experimental economics, and neurobiology.

10/17/2006

Engineers Devise New Method of Chemical Vapor Deposition for Smaller Nanostructures

Robert Tindol

Engineers at the California Institute of Technology have invented an ingenious new method for depositing tiny amounts of materials on surfaces. The researchers say that the technique, known as plasmon-assisted chemical vapor deposition, will add a powerful new tool to the existing battery of techniques used to construct microdevices.

10/05/2006

Caltech Professor Receives German Award for Laser Innovations

Deborah Williams-Hedges

H. Jeff Kimble, Valentine Professor and professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology, has been chosen by the German foundation Berthold Leibinger Stiftung as the initial recipient of its new Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis ("Future Prize").

10/04/2006

New All-Optical Modulator Paves the Way to Ultrafast Communications and Computing

Kathy Svitil

In the 1950s, a revolution began when glass and metal vacuum tubes were replaced with tiny and cheap transistors. Today, for the cost of a single vacuum tube, you can buy a computer chip with literally millions of transistors.

10/03/2006

New Window of Universe Opens at Griffith; Unprecedented Image from Palomar

Jill Perry

Caltech scientists have produced the largest astronomical image ever in order to inspire the public with the wonders of space exploration. The image has been reproduced as a giant mural in the new exhibit hall of the landmark Griffith Observatory, which will reopen Nov. 3 after several years of renovation.

10/03/2006

Caltech Physicist Goes Postal with Four Images of Snowflakes for Commemorative Stamps

Robert Tindol

Anyone looking for a seasonal postage stamp whose beauty just can't be licked should check out Ken Libbrecht's new Holiday Snowflakes stamps.

09/20/2006

"Champagne Supernova" Challenges Ideas about How Supernovae Work

Jill Perry

An international team of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology, University of Toronto, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered a supernova more massive than previously believed possible. This has experts rethinking their basic understanding of how stars explode as supernovae, according to a paper to be published in Nature on September 21.

09/14/2006

The Dwarf Planet Formerly Known as Xena Has Officially Been Named Eris, IAU Announces

Robert Tindol

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) today announced that the dwarf planet known as Xena since its 2005 discovery has been named Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord.

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