We are thrilled to have our new and returning students on campus. We are also excited to announce this year’s Student Life and Experience Conference (SLEC).

A small layout hiccup in our last issue left Joseph Greenwell captioned incorrectly, featuring Betsy Mitchell’s instead of his own. This coupled with Greenwell’s iconically bowtied image made for a curious moment that, in its way, captured something of the Caltech spirit. Now, with a proper introduction, meet the Institute’s new Associate Vice President for Student Life and Chief Student Affairs Officer.

The second floor of Kerckhoff had an unusual stillness that evening. People trickled into the small library room for the Science and Faith Examined (SAFE) talk, uncertain yet curious. I sat near the back, notebook open, listening to Tara—a physics PhD student and president of GCF—unfold her reflections on quantum field theory and the Bible.

OpenAI recently launched their latest image and video generation model, Sora 2, a tool enabling the production of images and video from a text prompt.

I bought the 2025 Pasadena Coffee Passport back in February so that I had something fun to look forward to this year and support local businesses. It is now September, and I have only been to four of the fourteen shops in the passport! I’m determined to visit them all before the end of the year, so stay tuned for my next round of reviews.

From packed stadiums to sold-out arenas, 2025 is a landmark year for live music—and nowhere is the excitement more electric than in Los Angeles.

Oh dearest Red Door quesadilla, Longing for you at a quarter til eleven Summer means lights off Missing a taste of heaven

On September 17, international students arrived on Caltech’s campus to attend a 3-day orientation meant to ease their transition to the United States. The group consisted of both undergraduate and graduate students, including exchange students from the U.K. and Denmark.

To the new students at Caltech: welcome! And to returning readers of the Tech: you may have seen my occasional obscure (and sometimes nerdy) coverage of animal lives on campus.

David Baltimore, the Judge Shirley Hufstedler Professor of Biology and President Emeritus of the California Institute of Technology, passed away on September 6 at his home in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He was 87.