This year marks a century since the establishment of quantum mechanics as a formal discipline… Significantly, Caltech played an essential role in expanding quantum theories, leading innovations, and expanding the possibilities of what science can be achieved.
Two members of the Caltech faculty have been named 2025 Wolf Prize laureates in recognition of their distinguished scientific accomplishments; the David Baltimore Professor of Biology and Bioengineering, Pamela Björkman, received the accolade in medicine, whereas the Frank J. Roshek Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, emeritus, Jim Eisenstein, received the prize in physics.
In my time at Caltech, I have found that scientists love to both work hard and play hard. While preparing for a party and hanging decorations at Dabney Garden last Fall, I noticed a statue of the Japanese deity Tenjin, on which I placed an Earth-shaped lantern. This man sitting on a yak with a Japanese name was of particular interest to me, as I have studied the Japanese language for over 10 years. Why had this statue been placed in one of the most historic spaces on campus? Why is Tenjin important?
Every year, a million people die of a curable disease. Why haven’t you heard about it?
Last year, tuberculosis killed more people than malaria, war, and murder combined. More people than COVID-19 or HIV/AIDS. One-quarter of all people alive today currently have tuberculosis, and every twenty seconds, someone dies from it.
Over the last month, a series of federal funding cuts to scientific research has created disruptions and uncertainty for various agencies and institutions.
To learn more about how the federal funding cuts may impact the Institute’s research, the Tech reached out to faculty members who described the uncertainty at this time.
Caltech joined several other leading American research universities in a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Filed on February 10, the lawsuit challenges what it describes as “a flagrantly unlawful action… that, if allowed to stand, will devastate medical research at America’s universities.”
DeepSeek is a new China-based startup that has created a Large Language Model (LLM) chatbot as capable as the current industry standard, ChatGPT. DeepSeek was founded in 2023.
The Steering Committee of the Faculty Board has recently met and approved several updates to the Honor Code process. Most of these pertain to faculty and instructors, but it is important for students to know and understand their rights.
JPL implemented its third round of layoffs in 2024 on November 13, cutting 325 employees—roughly 5% of its workforce. This latest reduction follows earlier waves: 100 contractors in January and 570 additional employees and contractors in February. As a result, JPL’s workforce now stands at approximately 5,500 employees. These job cuts stem from a funding crisis centered around the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, a flagship NASA initiative designed to retrieve and analyze Martian rock and dust samples on Earth.
The U.S. Department of Education issued a letter to universities on February 14th, broadly declaring all race-conscious programs illegal under federal law, including any decision affecting “aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
