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From One Collapsing Star, Two Black Holes Form and Fuse
11/06/2013

From One Collapsing Star, Two Black Holes Form and Fuse

Jessica Stoller-Conrad
Now new findings by Caltech researchers may help to test a model that helps explain the problem of supermassive black holes existing in the early universe—such black holes would have formed less than one billion years after the Big Bang.
qCraft Introduces Gaming Kids to Quantum Principles
10/30/2013

qCraft Introduces Gaming Kids to Quantum Principles

Jessica Stoller-Conrad
Finding common ground between schoolchildren and quantum-mechanics researchers is no easy task. After all, understanding quantum mechanics—the physics that governs the behavior of matter and light at the atomic (and subatomic) scale—can be daunting even for some physicists. However, through a recent collaboration with Google, researchers at Caltech have created a new space for this unlikely interaction—in the world of Minecraft, a popular video game.
Building the World's Most Sensitive Detectors: A Conversation with Rana Adhikari
10/28/2013

Building the World's Most Sensitive Detectors: A Conversation with Rana Adhikari

Cynthia Eller
Caltech professor of physics Rana Adhikari has been on a singular quest for 15 years: to detect gravitational waves.
Rana Adhikari
Caltech Names Thomas F. Rosenbaum as New President
10/24/2013

Caltech Names Thomas F. Rosenbaum as New President

Today Caltech announced the appointment of Thomas F. Rosenbaum as the Institute's ninth president. Dr. Rosenbaum is currently the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor of Physics and provost at the University of Chicago.
Caltech Nobelist Zewail Named to UN Scientific Advisory Board
10/21/2013

Caltech Nobelist Zewail Named to UN Scientific Advisory Board

Jessica Stoller-Conrad
Ahmed Zewail, Linus Pauling Professor of Chemistry and professor of physics, has been selected as one of 26 members of a new U.N. Scientific Advisory Board.
Reducing Coincidence with Mathematics: An Interview with Nets Katz
10/17/2013

Reducing Coincidence with Mathematics: An Interview with Nets Katz

Jessica Stoller-Conrad
Raised in Grand Prairie, Texas, Nets Katz began pursuing mathematics at an early age, earning a bachelor's degree at the age of 17 and a doctorate at 20. He joined the faculty at Caltech in January 2013.
Sky Survey Captures Key Details of Cosmic Explosions
10/16/2013

Sky Survey Captures Key Details of Cosmic Explosions

Katie Neith
Astronomical surveys have been cataloguing the night sky since the beginning of the 20th century. The intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF)—led by Caltech—started searching the skies for certain types of stars and related phenomena in February. Two recent papers by iPTF astronomers describe first-time detections.
Palomar Observatory
Watson Lecture: Let There Be Light: Finding the Earliest Galaxies
10/15/2013

Watson Lecture: Let There Be Light: Finding the Earliest Galaxies

Douglas Smith
Richard S. Ellis, the Steele Family Professor of Astronomy, is on the verge of seeing as far back as it is possible to see—not quite back to the dawn of time itself but to the dawn of the first galaxies. He describes the journey at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16, in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium. Admission is free.
Caltech Named World's Top University in Times Higher Education Global Ranking
10/02/2013

Caltech Named World's Top University in Times Higher Education Global Ranking

Kathy Svitil
For the third year in a row, the California Institute of Technology has been rated the world's number one university in the Times Higher Education global ranking of the top 200 universities.
Spirals of Light May Lead to Better Electronics
09/25/2013

Spirals of Light May Lead to Better Electronics

Jessica Stoller-Conrad
A group of researchers at Caltech has created the optical equivalent of a tuning fork—a device that can help steady the electrical currents needed to power high-end electronics and stabilize the signals of high-quality lasers.