How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Submitted by abenter on Wed, 2012-10-10 15:57

Last summer, Caltech junior Julie Jester worked on a project that might one day partially counteract blindness caused by a deteriorating retina. Her job: to help Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Azita Emami and her graduate students create the communications link between a tiny camera and a novel wireless neural stimulator that can be surgically inserted into the eye.

Now in its 34th year, Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program has paired nearly 7,000 students with real-world, hands-on projects in the labs of Caltech faculty and JPL staff.

A "Gifted" Professor

Submitted by schabner on Wed, 2012-10-10 15:03
Gifted teacher. Inspired researcher. Knowledgeable adviser. Personal friend. These are a few of the ways in which professor emeritus Frank Marble's former students describe him. Not too surprisingly, these sentiments also capture some of the many reasons why 20 of Marble's former PhD and graduate student advisees have joined together to honor and thank their mentor by creating an endowed professorship in his and his wife's names.

Caltech Faculty Members Honored by <i>Popular Mechanics</i>

Submitted by kfesenma on Mon, 2012-10-01 14:07

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.

Ready for Your Close-Up?

Submitted by abenter on Wed, 2012-09-26 09:06
As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." For people in certain professions—acting, modeling, and even politics—this phrase rings particularly true. Previous studies have examined how our social judgments of pictures of people are influenced by factors such as whether the person is smiling or frowning, but until now one factor has never been investigated: the distance between the photographer and the subject. According to a new study by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), this turns out to make a difference—close-up photo subjects, the study found, are judged to look less trustworthy, less competent, and less attractive.

Working Optimally

Submitted by abenter on Wed, 2012-09-26 08:54
Venkat Chandrasekaran, an assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences, arrived at Caltech in early September.

A Worthy Endeavor

Submitted by ksvitil on Sat, 2012-09-22 09:55
The space shuttle Endeavour's final flight ended Friday, September 21, when it landed at Los Angeles International Airport en route to its new life as an exhibit at the California Science Center. But without Caltech professors Christopher Brennen and Allan Acosta and alumnus Sheldon Rubin, the entire endeavor might not have been possible.

Caltech Awards International Aerospace Honor to Satellite Pioneer

Submitted by katien on Fri, 2012-09-21 10:36

Sir Martin Sweeting, founder and executive chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) and director of the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey, is the 2012 recipient of the International von Kármán Wings Award. The award—presented annually by the Aerospace Historical Society, which is part of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at Caltech (GALCIT)—acknowledges outstanding contributions by international innovators, leaders, and pioneers in aerospace.

Notes from the Back Row: "Taming Turbulence"

Submitted by lorio on Tue, 2012-08-28 07:00

"Turbulence is everywhere," says Beverley McKeon—from continent-spanning weather systems down to the swirls of air your car leaves behind itself as you drive. "I think about things like ships, planes, and pipelines," she explains, noting that about half of the energy consumed by each of those three transportation systems goes to counteract turbulence-induced drag.

 

Caltech Wins Toilet Challenge

Submitted by lmarkle on Wed, 2012-08-15 07:00

Caltech's solar-powered toilet has won the Reinventing the Toilet Challenge issued by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Caltech engineer Michael Hoffmann and his colleagues were awarded $100,000 for their design, which they demonstrated at the Reinvent the Toilet Fair, a two-day event held August 14–15 in Seattle.

White House Honors Caltech and JPL Scientists and Engineers

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2012-07-24 07:00

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.

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