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Caltech Faculty Members Honored by Popular Mechanics
10/01/2012

Caltech Faculty Members Honored by Popular Mechanics

Kimm Fesenmaier
Caltech engineers and scientists often work at the frontiers of science—pushing the limits of what is known and what is possible. Now, with its eighth annual Breakthrough Awards, Popular Mechanics magazine is recognizing two projects that fall into this category and in which Caltech faculty members have played major roles—the development of ultralight micro-lattices by materials scientist Julia Greer and colleagues, and the Voyager 1 and 2 missions, whose project scientist, physicist Ed Stone, has been at Caltech for the missions' entire 35-year ride.
Venkat Chandrasekaran: Working Optimally
09/26/2012

Venkat Chandrasekaran: Working Optimally

Kimm Fesenmaier
Venkat Chandrasekaran, an assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences, arrived at Caltech in early September.
Happy 35th Birthday, Voyager!
09/05/2012

Happy 35th Birthday, Voyager!

Kimm Fesenmaier

Today, September 5, marks the 35th anniversary of the launch of Voyager 1, which lifted off in 1977 on a Titan III–Centaur launch system just 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2. Now 11 billion and 9 billion miles from the sun, respectively, the spacecraft are the farthest-flung man-made objects, traveling every 100 days a distance equal to that between sun and Earth.

Dennis Kochmann Wins International Solid Mechanics Award
08/31/2012

Dennis Kochmann Wins International Solid Mechanics Award

Brian Bell

Caltech assistant professor of aerospace Dennis Kochmann received the 2012 IUTAM Bureau Prize in solid mechanics from the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

Weighing Molecules One at a Time
08/26/2012

Weighing Molecules One at a Time

Marcus Woo

A team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has made the first-ever mechanical device that can measure the mass of individual molecules one at a time.

It's Always Sunny in Caltech Lab
08/20/2012

It's Always Sunny in Caltech Lab

Katie Neith

Large solar flares—or plasma that erupts from the sun's surface—can cause widespread damage, both in space and on Earth, which is why researchers at Caltech are working to learn more about the possible precursors to solar flares called plasma loops.

Caltech Professor Barry Simon Wins Henri Poincare Prize
08/16/2012

Caltech Professor Barry Simon Wins Henri Poincare Prize

Brian Bell

Barry Simon, IBM Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Caltech, is a 2012 recipient of the Henri Poincaré Prize.

 

Physicist Wins $3 Million Physics Prize
08/01/2012

Physicist Wins $3 Million Physics Prize

Katie Neith

Alexei Kitaev, professor of theoretical physics, computer science, and mathematics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), has been named an inaugural winner of the Fundamental Physics Prize—a $3 million award that represents the largest academic prize given to an individual in the history of science.

Alexei Kitaev
White House Honors Caltech and JPL Scientists and Engineers
07/24/2012

White House Honors Caltech and JPL Scientists and Engineers

Brian Bell

Chiara Daraio, professor of aeronautics and applied physics, and Christopher Hirata, professor of astrophysics, both at Caltech, and Ian Clark of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)—which is managed by Caltech—are winners of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This is the highest award given by the United States government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

Caltech Physicists are Awarded New Funding from the Simons Foundation
07/24/2012

Caltech Physicists are Awarded New Funding from the Simons Foundation

Katie Neith

For nearly 20 years, the Simons Foundation has worked to advance mathematics and the physical sciences through grants and educational programs. Now the organization is taking its support of research one step further by naming 21 scientists as the first-ever Simons Investigators. Caltech physicists Chris Hirata and Hirosi Ooguri are among this inaugural group of recipients, each of whom are eligible to receive more than $1.3 million over the next ten years to fund innovative research.