As We Scatter to the Winds
May 27, 2026, marked my fifth anniversary of my arrival at Caltech, when I was freshly off the boat – or rather, off the plane. Here in Southern California, the weather seems almost unchanged from one day to the next, and the lack of dramatic seasonal shifts can create the illusion that time is stagnant (unless you are a birder paying close attention to migrants). But as we approach this year’s commencement, I cannot help but reflect on how quickly time has passed.
Caltech Y Volunteers Remove Ivy at the LA Arboretum for Make-A-Difference Day
On April 11, Caltech students traveled to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia for a Make-A-Difference Day service project organized by the Caltech Y. Volunteers spent the morning removing Algerian ivy from tree trunks and root systems, helping protect the Arboretum’s plant life from invasive overgrowth. The 127-acre Arboretum, established as a public garden in 1947, sits on historic Rancho Santa Anita, once known to the native Tongva people as Aleupkigna, or “the place of many waters.”
CDS Responds to Reddit Post Alleging Issues at Browne Dining Hall
On May 19, an anonymous Reddit user posted in r/Caltech, a Reddit forum for Caltech-related posts, alleging food safety, sanitation, and workplace issues at Browne Dining Hall. The post appeared under the username “No-Environment-3923” and was titled “PSA from a former cook: Be very careful eating at Caltech Dining Halls (Browne).” The Tech messaged the user through Reddit, who accepted the message request but did not reply before the account was deleted.
End of Term: Wishing You a Great Summer from Housing & Dining!
Hello everyone from Housing and Dining Services! As the final stretch of the academic year wraps up, we want to take a moment to congratulate all of our students on completing another incredible term. To our graduating seniors, congratulations! We are so incredibly proud of everything you’ve accomplished during your time at Caltech, and we wish you the absolute best on your next adventure.
Fearlessness, Community, and Unfinished Work: Rosenbaum on His Caltech Presidency
As Thomas F. Rosenbaum prepares to conclude twelve years as Caltech’s president, the Institute stands between continuity and transition. Under Rosenbaum’s tenure, Caltech expanded its physical campus, deepened its investment in quantum science and sustainability, increased the proportion of Pell-eligible students, and navigated a turbulent national climate for higher education and federally funded research. In July, Ray Jayawardhana will become Caltech’s next president. Rosenbaum spoke with the Tech about unfinished work, student well-being, federal science policy, JPL, the role of universities in American democracy, and what should remain stubbornly Caltech.
From Nightclub Door Lists to Fashion’s Front Row: The Unlikely Journey of Melissa Magsaysay
There’s a particular kind of audacity required to fail spectacularly at being a cocktail waitress and somehow turn that failure into a career-defining opportunity. Melissa Magsaysay has made a career out of this kind of alchemy—transforming what others might see as limitations into launching pads, and using fashion journalism to reshape who gets to be seen and heard in an industry notorious for its gatekeeping. Today, as host of the LA Times Studios podcast “Living Well,” a contributing writer for Business of Fashion and Vogue Philippines, and co-founder of Duster—a fashion brand built around the Filipino house dress—Magsaysay has become something her 11-year-old self, thumbing through fashion magazines in the San Francisco Bay Area, might not have imagined: a voice who uses fashion as a lens to examine larger questions of representation and cultural heritage.
Integrated Core, One Year Later
On a Saturday afternoon this spring, part of Caltech’s inaugural Integrated Core cohort found itself somewhere few first-year lab sections go: wandering the aisles of Home Depot. They were looking for tubing, buckets, connectors, and whatever else might help them build small-scale carbon capture systems from scratch. One group was growing algae.
NASA to Compete JPL Management Contract as Caltech Prepares Bid
NASA announced on May 22 that it will open the next contract to manage and operate the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to competition, marking a potentially significant change in the nearly seven-decade relationship among NASA, Caltech, and JPL. Caltech has managed JPL for NASA since 1958, when the laboratory was transferred from the U.S. Army to the newly established space agency. JPL itself traces its origins to Caltech researchers in 1936.
Opera’s Rising Stars: The Pasadena Vocal Competition
In the bubble of STEM academia, the ages 22-33 are reminiscent of college graduations, graduate studies, and perhaps a postdoc or two while navigating the faculty search process. Along the way, scholars may assemble portfolios and grants alike to request funding for their studies. The musical world is not too different from ours.