Caltech

Thayer (Ted) Scudder, Caltech's only professor of anthropology for the latter half of the 20th century, passed away October 22 at the age of 96.

UVEX will be the first-ever telescope to make deep maps of the entire sky in ultraviolet light, and will provide new insights into some of the most powerful blasts in the cosmos.   Read more:

At the Quantum California Convening, Caltech Pres. Ray Jayawardhana sat down with Dolev Bluvstein, Caltech researcher and Oratomic CEO, to discuss how foundational science at Caltech is laying the groundwork for the future of quantum and fueling innovation and economic growth.

On October 31, 1936, a small group of Caltech students, researchers, and rocket enthusiasts tested rocket propulsion in the Arroyo Seco—and set in motion the story of JPL. 🚀 Read more:

On October 29, Ray Jayawardhana will be inaugurated as Caltech's 10th president. The event celebrates the spirit of First Light. Join us in celebrating the next chapter! Learn more:

As politics in America become more polarized and each voting cycle seems more fraught than the last, but new research shows that congressional elections follow strong statistical patterns, even when individual races produce surprises.

New research from the Caltech lab of Sujit Datta, professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering, and biophysics, helps to explain why Phages can sometimes outnumber bacteria a hundredfold, yet the bacteria endure and even thrive. Read more:

A new Caltech lab will soon inform environmental policy. The lab is being established through a $7 million infusion of funding from the WHH Foundation, a private family philanthropic organization. Read more:

RT @LaskerFDN: George Wells Beadle of @Caltech was born #OTD in 1903. Beadle received a Basic Medical Research Lasker Award in 1950 and a #NobelPrize in 1958 for his contributions to the understanding of the genetic control of metabolic processes. Find out more:

RT @NU_NNCI: SkAI and NNCI welcomed @Caltech’s Dr. @AnimaAnandkumar on neural operators & AI for science. From a weather model that beat supercomputers to simulating black holes and fusion reactors, she still emphasizes the human role: "AI isn’t replacing scientists anytime soon."

What does it take to build a world-leading quantum ecosystem? Researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and industry leaders will tackle that question this week at #QuantumCalifornia.

Caltech is proud to contribute the foundational science, talent, and partnerships helping shape the future of quantum. Read more:

This fall, Caltech celebrates the spirit of first light for the Inauguration of Ray Jayawardhana as the Institute's 10th president. Over two days, the campus and broader community are invited to join compelling discussions and experiences that showcase the heart of Caltech.

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On October 11, NASA's Perseverance rover broke the record for the furthest distance traveled by a vehicle on another world. Initially set by NASA's Opportunity rover in 2014, Perseverance has now driven 28.1 miles.

RT @Robertljg: Really excited to share that our work on TorchLean at @Caltech, with @AnimaAnandkumar, has been selected for support through the 2026 AI for Math Fund, run by @RenPhilanthropy and funded by @xtxmarkets. Since releasing TorchLean, we’ve expanded from verified neural-network execution to autodiff, floating-point semantics, verification, and GPU execution; uncovered bugs and semantic mismatches across major ML stacks; and seen teams at major companies and U.S. national labs begin using it for ML verification. With this support, we’re excited to push toward formally verified GPU execution and GPU kernel verification—part of a broader goal of making AI and scientific computation trustworthy across the full stack. TorchLean: Congrats to all the winners!

A new Caltech-led paper demonstrates that an AI program can be used to predict when tipping points occur in simple models, including models of a climate-change system and simulations of turbulent airflow over a plane's wing.

We're delighted to announce the winners of this year’s grants from the AI for Math Fund, powered by founding donor @xtxmarkets: 22 winners, 30+ organizations, selected from 400+ applications across 50 countries. Backed by a record $17.1M from XTX Markets, bringing their total commitment to $35.1M. 1/2

A new study from Caltech neuroscientists has discovered how social behaviors—specifically aggressive displays of intimidation—are wired in the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a commonly used model organism.

RT @universityicons: Today's featured university icon is Beckman Auditorium, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. You can find this #CalTech photo, and others, in the "California Institute of Technology " Collection, in the 🔗 below. @CalTech @caltechalumni

RT @ClarivateAG: Meet Harry B. Gray (@Caltech) #CitationLaureate 2026 in Chemistry. ▶️ Hear him reflect on a career spent exploring one of nature's most fundamental questions: how electrons move through living systems. #CitationLaureates

RT @GeorgieC: Magic. Awe. Wonder. ✨🌑🚀🪐 @NASAJPL #ExploreJPL

On October 8, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a second round of funding for its Genesis Mission. Among the projects that will receive funding is a Caltech effort that will use AI to help identify new and better catalysts, materials that speed up chemical reactions.

RT @GeorgieC: ExploreJPL is BACK! After a three-year hiatus, a remarkable two days of inspiration, awe, curiosity, technological and scientific brilliance! 26,000 visitors 900 volunteers 💛 ✅ Missions in Flight ✅ Moon to Mars ✅ Makerspace/s and Microdevices ✅ Missions that Changed the World A team from across @NASA, @NASAJPL and @Caltech that are indeed changing the world…couldn’t be prouder

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Kareem El-Badry, associate professor of astronomy at Caltech, has been selected as one of 20 Packard Fellows for 2026. Much of El-Badry’s work is focused on spotting hidden populations of black holes using data from large-scale sky surveys.

Alireza Marandi, professor of electrical engineering and applied physics, has been named a 2026 Moore Experimental Physics Investigator. He is one of 21 new investigators named this year by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.