National Postdoc Appreciation Week

To: The Caltech Community
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, President, 
           Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and Professor of Physics
Date: September 17, 2018
Re: National Postdoc Appreciation Week

Postdoctoral Scholars contribute mightily to research on campus and to Caltech's standing in the world. More than 600 postdocs are on campus this year, spread across all six divisions. They make their influence felt across the academic enterprise, carrying out experiments, devising theories, mentoring students, setting intellectual directions, and conveying the power of science to the general public. Caltech postdocs have made scientific and technological contributions at the highest levels, garnering, for example, 14 Nobel Prizes and 14 National Medals of Science over the years. 

The start of National Postdoc Appreciation Week is a most appropriate time to recognize the unsung heroes in our midst. To that end, the Institute recently created a central postdoctoral office to supplement the support provided in the divisions. We are also buttressing career placement services in order to make sure that our postdocs are well-positioned to maximize their impact on society as they move on to the next stages of their careers.

Caltech's mission of world-leading research and education depends crucially on our postdoctoral scholars. Although their time at Caltech may be short, they quickly become vital parts of the Institute's intellectual fabric. In the words of Herman Hesse:  "Where paths that have an affinity for each other intersect, the whole world looks like home for a time." A heartfelt thank you to the Caltech Postdoc Association for your partnership and to all our postdoctoral scholars for making Caltech home.