[January 14] Behind “foreign” glasses

[January 14] AI at Caltech in 2025, how’s it going? Has it destroyed everything?

[January 14] As Below, So Above: Colonizing the Best in Ourselves

[January 14] Brownian Motion: A Study of Caltech's Lunch Hour Chaos.

[January 14] Caltech and LA wildfires.

[January 14] Circumnavigating TACIT’s Earth Data: The Musical — A Retrospective

[January 14] Eaton Fire Scorches the Caltech and Pasadena Community

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When I sent out my university applications it was as if my entire country was against me, no one wanted me to leave the traditional circle of the native student, and yet, here I am. I believe I owe this story to many people, but especially to that little girl with dark curls who, as soon as she set foot in the United States for the first time, felt a calling, felt totally a daughter of the American dream.

We must confess that artificial intelligence has changed the planet. Once upon a time, the man was surprised by the discovery of fire, then metal, cultivation techniques. Then we arrived at more scientific realities such as during the Middle Ages when extraordinary cathedrals were built using heavy tools, pulleys, a form of engineering, right? With the Enlightenment, the greatest scientific discoveries were made such as light with Edison or more specific analyses at an anatomical level.

I just finished reading the new book Star Bound by Emily Carney and Bruce McCandless III (shoutout to my friend Paige Kaufman who released a podcast interview with the authors yesterday – Space Spiels, wherever you get your podcasts). In the book, the authors discuss – among other things – how we have successfully grown plants in lunar regolith brought back from the Apollo missions. This is especially relevant now, as Artemis is aimed at establishing a permanent base on the surface of the Moon.

Caltech is, by most accounts, a demanding place. Students work too hard; professors stress too much. Lunchtime should come as the universal comfort blanket to us all. A chance for our basement-ridden folk to remember what Vitamin D feels like; an opportunity for Caltech students to practice a social encounter; a time to sing Katy Perry to both halves of my grilled chicken sandwich. And yet, it is my frequent jaunts into the Browne dining hall that prove the most demanding of all.

we build rockets, not firefighters, but we are still talking about fire…right? A combination of abnormally dry conditions and powerful wind gusts have fueled Los Angeles with destructive wildfires.” This was the subtitle of the first article published by the L.A. Times, and I think you have all read about what is happening, which areas are affected, and how hard they have tried to put out the fire and contain it, but it is a machine that does not stop.

Cast of Earth Data, from left to right: Kathryn Bikle, Ellis Spickermann, Cai Tong Ng, Jocelyn Argueta, Joony Kim, Anya Janowski, Armin Kleinboehl, the author, Maria Azcona Baez, Eric Smith, Joey Jefferson, Julian Wagner, Solvin Sigurdson, Jessica Kilgore, Josef Svoboda, Leslie Maxfield, Boyuan Chen, Maat Braaten. Just out of frame are Joži McKiernan and Michael Gutierrez.

It is now Monday January 13^th 2025 and the Eaton Fire is 14,117 acres and 27% contained. 3,155 firefighting personnel are assigned to this fire. The Eaton Fire is one of the worst natural disasters in United States history, and Southern California’s deadliest wildfire disaster. Ten miles of foothills from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Santa Anita Avenue is just destruction. Caltech students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community have been impacted by this traumatic and devastating fire. At least 200 Caltech community members have lost their homes to the fires. Thousands have been displaced. Ash contamination, poor air quality, and loss of power and water utilities remain to be additional issues we face.

Contrary to what our pseudonym suggests, we are but college students. Thus we spent all of this past fall hoping and praying for a single miracle: Caltech’s Three Week Winter Break. This break is a time of rest, a time of relaxation, and a time of rejuvenation. During these three weeks, we slowly gather back up the energy needed for the upcoming winter term, whether that be through spending time with friends and family, going out and having fun, or simply just doing nothing. For this reason, we wanted to share with you how our respective winter breaks went.

I promised you Plato, and here we are. I would say that, after a period of rest where we fantasized about the future and especially about what we should and could have done during the following term, the philosopher I am going to write about fits perfectly. A Mediterranean illumination that I had trying to understand how to find a connection, but it allows us to see the world of Platonic ideas as a parallel reality truly capable of transforming the simple idea of ​​thought, with the intellectual search for being. Mamma mia! What big words—well, let’s delve into the connections that can be seen between the world of science and research with Plato.

Nintendo is arguably the largest gaming company in the world. From the Legend of Zelda to Mario, it’s amassed an impressive repertoire of successful franchises. Even more so, the success of these franchises becomes even more impressive considering how they are only available on a Nintendo console.

This article will be updated with the latest information as it becomes available.

It was a bit of an enigma as to why he had chosen to speak at Caltech. A world famous luxury shoe designer, Stuart Weitzman, seems an unlikely visitor. After graduating from the Wharton School in 1963 at the University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman pushed his job offer at Goldman Sachs to pursue women’s shoe designing. In 2019, UPenn named its school of design after him, and now seven years after stepping down from creative director, Weitzman travels around the country lecturing at various universities— and Caltech was next on his list.

In our annual review of the ASCIT Bylaws, ASCIT Board of Directors has decided to propose the following amendments. These propositions have been approved unanimously by the Board of Directors, and we now bring them to the undergraduate students to be voted into action.

In “The Ballad of East and West,” Rudyard Kipling states that “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” On the contrary, Raqib Shaw demonstrates how art can unite the two with striking effect.

I’m Antonio. I matriculated as a Caltech undergraduate in 2019. I will not graduate.

In a recent national survey of 257 colleges and universities, Caltech ranked overall 111th. 92 Caltech undergrads were surveyed on a number of questions including how often they felt the need to “self-censor,” their comfort expressing their views on different topics, and administrative support.

Well yes, I am more than sure that all of you have already heard of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the masters of ancient classical philosophy. There would not have been a beginning without them and none of the greatest philosophers, even of the contemporary age, would have managed to develop a single concrete idea, think of Immanuel Kant who still criticized Plato during the period of the Enlightenment (1750).

On November 13, JPL laid off 325 employees, or 5% of its workforce.

Come enjoy the true holiday spirit at one of the oldest Christmas light displays in a tradition going back over a hundred years.

If you’re craving a culinary trip to Hong Kong and Macau without the airfare, HK Macau Bistro in San Gabriel offers a flavor-packed detour. With tables fashioned from mahjong tiles and walls adorned with street signs straight out of Kowloon, the vibe here screams retro nostalgia with a side of quirky charm. The food? A mixed bag of divine delights and comforting mediocrity.

“I struggled in college so there is a personal connection for me, to be there for students who are struggling,” says Dr. Saeromi Kim, Caltech’s new Director of Counseling Services at Student Wellness Services (SWS). Dr. Kim, who uses she/they pronouns and is of Korean-Venezuelan ethnic backgrounds, came to Caltech after 13 years of counseling experience at UCLA. She herself has faced mental health and identity issues in college, as well as had to navigate the issues involved with being queer and an immigrant.

A SATIRE advice column about alive, ahaha, and everything in between!

This past summer I was walking on campus when in a window I saw something I would not expect to see at a technical school – a flyer with the following poem printed on it: I don’t care how God-damn smart / these guys are: I’m bored. / It’s been raining like hell all day long / and there’s nothing to do