News & Events

03-10-08

A National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Center of Excellence will be established at Caltech, under the direction of Michael Ortiz, Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering. This center, PSAAP, one of five new centers to be established, will develop not only the science and engineering models and software for large-scale simulations, but also methods associated with the emerging disciplines of verification and validation and uncertainty quantification. The goal of these emerging disciplines is to enable scientists to make precise statements about the degree of confidence they have in their simulation-based predictions. The center will be funded for $17 million over a five-year period.

Tags: GALCIT MCE Michael Ortiz

03-04-08

Christopher Brennen, the Richard L. and Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering, delivered the plenary opening lecture at the Twelfth International Symposium on Transport Phenomena and Dynamics of Rotating Machinery in February. After, he was awarded the organization's ISROMAC Award in recognition of "his outstanding research contributions in the area of cavitation and hydrodynamics in rotating machinery."

Tags: honors MCE Christopher Brennen

02-23-08

550 million years of jet-setting (and jet paddling): modes of jellyfish propulsion are finally being understood and used for engineering inspiration. Read the recent cover story in Science News that highlights
the work of Professor John Dabiri.

Tags: research highlights GALCIT John Dabiri

02-20-08

Caltech Trustee, Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. , has given $1 million to Caltech in support of the final stages of construction of the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology. The Annenberg Foundation donated $25 million toward the construction of the building which will serve as home to participants of the IST initiative. Remarks Bechtel, "The collaborative opportunities provided by the Information Science and Technology initiative will support Caltech's effort to find solutions for many of our country's challenges," adds Bechtel. "I'm honored to be a partner in this effort." [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: CMS Caltech infrastructure

02-14-08

Caltech is recognizing five alumni with its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award. This year, the recipients are Ray Feeney (BS '75, engineering), Alexis C. Livanos (BS '70, engineering, MS '73, engineering science, PhD '75, engineering science), William H. Press (MS '71, physics, PhD '73, physics),Arthur D. Riggs (PhD '66, biochemistry), and Warren G. Schlinger (BS '44, applied chemistry, MS '46, chemical engineering, PhD '49, chemical engineering). For details on their accomplishements, please click here.

Tags: honors alumni

02-12-08

Christof Koch, the Troendle Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology and Professor of Computation and Neural Systems, and his colleagues, have found that changes in pupil diameter correspond to the moment when a simple decision is made. The pupil, which is about 2 mm wide in bright light, dilated by as much as 1 mm at that moment--a change that, in theory, could be noticeable to a casual observer. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: EE research highlights health Christof Koch

01-28-08

Changhuei Yang, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering, and colleagues, have invented a new technique, turbidity suppression by optical phase conjugation (TSOPC), that counteracts the scattering of light and removes the distortion it creates in images, potentially allowing for light energy to be targeted to devices inside a human body. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: EE energy Changhuei Yang MedE health

01-23-08

Electrical engineering undergraduate student, Matthew Lew, has received the a Newport and Spectra-Physics Research Excellence Travel Award at the SPIE Photonics West Conference, held January 23, 2008 in San Jose. He won the award for his work on "Two-dimensional differential interference contrast microscopy based on four-hole variation of Young's interference" conducted in Changhuei Yang's Biophotonics Laboratory. This award is typically given to graduate students for outstanding research, Matthew Lew stands out in this year's batch of recipients as he is the only undergraduate to receive the prize.

Tags: EE honors

01-10-08

Silicon nanowires are laying the foundation for a new type of cheap yet energy-efficient microscopic refrigeration, with no moving parts. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: APhMS energy William Goddard

01-10-08

The FCC's auction of the 700MHz spectrum, with reserve prices set at $10 billion, was designed by Caltech economics professor Jacob Goeree and economics professor Charles Holt from the University of Virginia. The system was tested and refined through a series of laboratory experiments in which more than 200 Caltech undergraduates participated over the course of two years. Currently, a few companies dominate the U.S. wireless market. This auction is the last chance for new entrants to create a national footprint. The 700 MHz frequency is particularly appealing for wireless - the signal can penetrate walls, and each tower broadcasting in this range can cover at least four times as many square miles as conventional cell-phone towers. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: research highlights