News & Events

06-11-20

Chengzhe Zhou, a graduate student in Physics supervised by Sandra Troian, Professor of Applied Physics, Aeronautics, and Mechanical Engineering, is a recipient of the 2020 Richard B. Chapman Memorial Award. His doctorate research focuses on the development of novel theoretical and computational tools for quantifying the nonlinear evolution and control of moving liquid boundaries driven by external fields. He hopes his findings offer new and useful analytic tools for investigating emergent small-scale dynamic phenomena in strongly driven nonlinear systems. The Richard B. Chapman Memorial Award is given to an EAS graduate student in hydrodynamics who has distinguished himself or herself in research.

Tags: APhMS honors GALCIT MCE Richard B. Chapman Memorial Award Sandra Troian Chengzhe Zhou

06-11-20

Michael Mello, Teaching Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, has been chosen by the Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology (ASCIT) to receive a 2019-2020 ASCIT Teaching Award. These awards recognize individuals who inspire and motivate students, are approachable, and present course material effectively and efficiently.

Tags: honors MCE teaching Michael Mello

06-08-20

Daniel Neamati is a recipient of the 2020 Henry Ford II Scholar Award. Daniel’s interests sit at the cross-section of mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and planetary science. Daniel's research includes modern computational techniques in microfluidic analyses, and he has contributed to JPL projects such as the Europa Lander and Mars 2020. In the near future, Daniel plans to conduct a SURF at Stanford, and a senior thesis with Soon-Jo Chung, Bren Professor of Aerospace; Jet Propulsion Laboratory Research Scientist, in the Aerospace Robotics and Control Laboratory. Thereafter, Daniel plans to pursue a Ph.D. in control systems in aerospace engineering. The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is funded under an endowment provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund. The award is made annually to engineering students with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study.

Tags: honors GALCIT Henry Ford II Scholar Award Soon-Jo Chung Daniel Neamati

06-08-20

Two teams of Caltech researchers have won three International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) Best Paper Awards in multiple categories along with the overall best paper award. The ICRA is the largest and most prestigious robotics conference of the year. Awards are given on the basis of technical merit, originality, potential impact on the field, clarity of the written paper, and quality of the presentation. Maegan Tucker, Ellen Novoseller, Claudia Kann, Yanan Sui, Yisong Yue, Joel Burdick, and Aaron Ames, have won the ICRA Best Conference Paper Award and the ICRA Best Paper Award on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) for their paper entitled "Preference-Based Learning for Exoskeleton Gait Optimization." Amanda Bouman, Paul Nadan, Matthew Anderson, Daniel Pastor, Jacob Izraelevitz, Joel Burdick, and Brett Kennedy, have won the ICRA Best Paper Award on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for their paper entitled "Design and Autonomous Stabilization of a Ballistically Launched Multirotor." 

Tags: EE honors MedE MCE CMS Joel Burdick IST Yisong Yue CNS Aaron Ames Maegan Tucker Ellen Novoseller Claudia Kann Yanan Sui Amanda Bouman Paul Nadan Matthew Anderson Daniel Pastor Jacob Izraelevitz Brett Kennedy

06-04-20

Computer science student Caleb Sander, advised by Thomas Vidick, Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, is a recipient of the 2020 Henry Ford II Scholar Award. Caltech classes have introduced Caleb to surprising new interests, like the philosophical questions posed by physics and Omer Tamuz’s game theory class, which convinced him to also major in Economics. His favorite experiences at Caltech have been helping students learn by serving as a teaching assistant in five computer science courses. This summer he will work remotely as a software engineering intern at Facebook, and he will likely look for a job in the software industry. The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is funded under an endowment provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund. The award is made annually to engineering students with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study.

Tags: honors CMS Henry Ford II Scholar Award IST Thomas Vidick Caleb Sander

06-02-20

Lei Li advised by Lihong Wang, Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, is a winner of this year's Charles Wilts Prize, for his doctoral thesis "Multi-contrast Photoacoustic Computed Tomography." The Charles Wilts Prize is awarded every year to a graduate student in Electrical Engineering for outstanding independent research.

Tags: EE honors MedE Wilts Prize KNI Lihong Wang Lei Li

06-01-20

Computing and Mathematical Sciences students Dessie DiMino and Niv Karthikeyan are recipients of the 2020 James King Jr. Award. The award is given annual by the Caltech Center for Diversity to an individual who stands out as a strong supporter of diversity. One of Dessie's nominators stated, "More than anything, Dessie's always inspired me by her ability to spend one minute jumping into the battlefield and leading the charge and another minute reaching out to someone who's struggling and being a soft shoulder to lean on." A nomination for Niv stated, "It is hard for me to imagine a person more deserving of a Diversity Award than Niv," adding, "She is incredibly supportive and has been a wonderful resource for both people in her house and for undergraduates in general, helping people through crises and dealing with harassment or discrimination. Niv is an incredible ally and champion of equality on campus." [Past Winners]

Tags: honors CMS diversity Dessie DiMino Niv Karthikeyan James King Jr. Award

06-01-20

Michael Mello, Teaching Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, is the recipient of the 2020 Northrop Grumman Prize for Excellence in Teaching. The Prize is awarded to an EAS professor or lecturer who demonstrates, in the broadest sense, unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate and graduate classroom or laboratory teaching. A nomination for Professor Mello read, “Dr. Mello is one of the most outstanding and gifted instructors I have seen at Caltech in the last 30 years”.

Tags: honors MCE teaching Michael Mello

05-28-20

Mechanical Engineering student Rahul Arun, advised by Professor Aaron Ames, Bren Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Control and Dynamical Systems, and Beverley McKeon, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics, is a recipient of the 2020 Henry Ford II Scholar Award. Rahul's academic interests lie at the intersection of theoretical, numerical, and experimental fluid mechanics, with an emphasis on turbulent flows. This summer, he will be working as a SURF fellow under Tim Colonius, Frank and Ora Lee Marble Professor of Mechanical Engineering, to conduct fast and adaptive numerical simulations of vortex ring collisions. In the more distant future, his plan is to attend graduate school. The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is funded under an endowment provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund. The award is made annually to engineering students with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study.

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Henry Ford II Scholar Award Rahul Arun

05-26-20

Wei Gao, Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering, has been selected as a 2020 Young Scientist by the World Economic Forum. Each year the selection Committee honours 25 Young Scientists under the age of 40 in recognition of their contribution to cutting-edge research. Candidates are selected based on their achievements in expanding the boundaries of knowledge and practical applications of science in issues as diverse as child psychology, chemical oceanography and artificial intelligence. Gao's research is focused on developing skin-interfaced wearable biosensors that will enable analytics through sweat rather than blood, leading to non-invasive and real-time analysis and timely medical intervention. [2020 Young Scientists] [Brochure]

Tags: APhMS honors MedE KNI Wei Gao