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Centers & Resources
Featured
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All EventsMaterials Science Research Lecture
- Lead Systems Engineer, NASA Ames Mission Design Center
Kevin Parkin
Kevin Parkin (MS '00, PhD '06, Aeronautics) is a rocket scientist, inventor, and a visionary transforming sci-fi into reality. Currently the Lead Systems Engineer for the NASA Ames Mission Design Center, Parkin has returned to the place he helped establish in 2007, where he began his career after graduating from Caltech. His career highlights include the invention of the microwave thermal rocket, a breakthrough from his graduate studies at Caltech, which he has further developed through collaborations with NASA and DARPA.
- Founding Partner, Armond Wilson LLP
Michelle Armond
Michelle Armond (BS '00, electrical engineering and history) loves being a lawyer. Informed by her Caltech undergraduate training, Armond's two-decade professional journey as an intellectual property litigator is marked by her unique ability to navigate both legal and technical complexity. Five years ago, Armond's career took a bold turn when she and a colleague started their own law firm in 2019, Armond Wilson LLP.
- Founder, Epitome Antiviral LLC
Paul Wegener
Paul T. Wegener (BS '71) is dedicated to transforming ideas into groundbreaking innovations. His career spans environmental engineering and pharmaceuticals, with ventures that range from pioneering an ocean wave energy conversion device to exploring green tea extract as a treatment for viral infections. Despite claiming to be retired, Wegener continues to analyze data sets and clinical trials—driven by his passion for invention—and he welcomes discussion and input from anyone interested in his work.
- President of the Space & Mission Systems sector at BAE Systems, Inc.
Dave Kaufman
Dave Kaufman (MS '90, PhD '95, mechanical engineering) is a testament to the power of saying "yes" to unexpected opportunities. Kaufman began his career as a thermal engineer, but his willingness to go "off script" has led him to his current role as President of the Space & Mission Systems sector at BAE Systems, Inc. Along with his three-decade industry career, Kaufman has been awarded two patents for his research and development work and is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
- Chief Commercial Officer, Refinery Calculator, Inc.
Lori McDowell
Lori McDowell (MS '88, environmental engineering) has navigated through diverse roles in her career, from research and development to business development, but she has recently embarked on a new path. Currently, McDowell serves as the Chief Commercial Officer for Refinery Calculator, Inc. an energy data company, while also leading Reimagine U Strategies, the coaching and speaking company she founded aimed at helping individuals lead more joyful and fulfilling lives. McDowell's focus lies in helping people recognize and overcome obstacles that hinder their progress, promoting what she terms a "Reinvention Mindset," which is also the title of her forthcoming book.
- Founder and CEO, MightyMeld
Steven Schkolne
Steven Schkolne (MS '99, PhD '04, Computer Science) has been fascinated by computers long before they became mainstream. His early experiences with programming and video games have fueled a career that successfully integrates art, design, and mathematics. As the founder and CEO of MightyMeld, a visualization and creation platform for web applications, Schkolne's pioneering work has solidified his reputation as a leading figure at the intersection of technology and creativity. Additionally, Schkolne's PhD research led to the first fully functional drawing programs for virtual reality, establishing him as one of the foremost experts in 3D interface design worldwide.
- Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
John Kitching
For John Kitching (MS '92, PhD '95, applied physics), keeping time is not just a necessity for daily life; it's his passion and career focus. Kitching holds several patents in the areas of spectroscopy and quantum systems, and his ground-breaking inventions of the chip-scale atomic clock and chip-scale atomic magnetometer earned him recognition as a 2022 Fellow of both the National Academy of Inventors and IEEE.
- AMA Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Penn University
Ottman Tertuliano
From West Africa to the West Coast, Ottman Tertuliano's (MS '15, PhD '19) journey in materials science has brought him to the intersection of nanoscience, biomechanics, and biology. Now the AMA Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at Penn University, Tertuliano's research group explores how mechanics can combine with biology, leading to enhanced outcomes for musculoskeletal diseases and tissue engineering.
- Co-Head of AI, Virtualitics
Aakash Indurkhya
Aakash Indurkhya (BS '16) is a trailblazer in the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence (AI), which continues to spark conversations (and heated debate) in the scientific and political realms. As the co-head of AI at Virtualitics, a Pasadena-based advanced analytics company, Indurkhya is focused on ways to make AI for analytics more effective, ethical, and relevant for real-world use cases.
- Associate Professor of Materials Science and Radiology, Stanford
Jen Dionne
Jennifer (Jen) Dionne (PhD '09) channels the principles of nanophotonics to engineer new solutions for global health and sustainability. Growing up in Rhode Island, her inspiration to pursue science came from watching the X-Files, where she saw how interdisciplinary teamwork could tackle unsolved mysteries. Currently an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Radiology at Stanford, Dionne's research is focused on creating impactful and innovative solutions for growing existential threats, like antimicrobial resistance. Outside of her research group, Dionne also served as the Senior Associate Vice Provost for research platforms/shared facilities at Stanford, a role informed by her involvement with Caltech's Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI), and is currently co-founder of Pumpkinseed and Deputy Director of a DOE National Quantum Science Center, Q-NEXT.
- Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering
Smruthi Karthikeyan
Dr. Karthikeyan's research interests lie at the interface of microbial ecology, computational biology and engineering. She builds predictive models that integrate physicochemical and transport data with multi-omic (DNA, RNA and metabolome-level) data to make accurate predictions of microbial community responses to environmental perturbations.
- Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Franca Hoffmann
Franca Hoffmann's research is focused on the interface between applied mathematics and data analysis, driven by the need to provide rigorous mathematical foundations for modeling tools used in applications.
- Incoming Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering
Anqi Zhang
Anqi Zhang will start as an Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering at Caltech in March 2025. She is currently a postdoctoral scholar advised by Zhenan Bao and Karl Deisseroth at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry under the supervision of Charles M. Lieber at Harvard University in 2020 and her B.S. degree in Materials Science from Fudan University in 2014. Her research is funded by the American Heart Association (AHA) postdoctoral fellowship and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) K99/R00 award. The Zhang Research Group will be dedicated to advancements in neurotechnology. The group will develop innovative tools for the modulation and monitoring of neural circuits through electronic, chemical, and genetic engineering. The ultimate goal is to bring novel technology from the laboratory to the clinic to understand and treat neurological disorders.
- Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and Electrical Engineering; William H. Hurt Scholar
Georgia Gkioxari
Georgia's research focuses on machine vision, namely teaching machines to see. Her work explores methods for learning from visual corpora to tackle challenging visual tasks with scalable, efficient and generalizable solutions. Georgia's research is centered around object recognition from images and videos as well as object tracking and 3D understanding.
- Graduate Student, Applied Physics and Materials Science
Miles Ross Johnson
My name is Miles Ross Johnson, and I am entering my fourth year as a PhD student in the Applied Physics department. My research interests are centered around investigating the fundamental optical and electrical properties of novel materials, with a focus on applications in sustainability. I use both computational and experimental techniques, attempting to predict phenomena from first-principles quantum mechanics (i.e. Density Functional Theory and more advanced techniques), and then fabricating devices centered around the novel material to test my prediction. For the past year or so I’ve been focused on NiPS3, a material which is interesting for a variety of reasons, but most prominently for its unique optical properties which are tied to its magnetic structure. Outside of my research, I spend a lot of time rock climbing, and I also play the Tenor Saxophone in the Caltech Jazz Band and the Caltech Wind Ensemble.
- Graduate Student, Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Pau Batlle
Hey there! I am a G5 in the Computing and Mathematical Sciences Department, working with Houman Owhadi. My PhD research has focused on developing mathematical tools and algorithms for robust uncertainty quantification and certification in inverse problems. I strive to use mathematics as a common language for diverse applications and I have deeply enjoyed collaborating in different domain areas during my PhD, including earthquake prediction modeling, particle physics, and atmospheric remote sensing. In my free time, I enjoy playing team sports and engaging in creative endeavors, mainly photography and game design. I enjoy thinking and engaging in games and sports partly because they are interesting models of more complicated life situations. Understanding player behavior, cooperation, and strategic thinking in situations with clear rule sets and goals can then be used to understand situations where goals and rules are not as well-defined.
- Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Kristi Sevier
I have always wanted to know how things work and I see programming as the language that brings things to life. Caltech was my dream because I wanted to create advanced robotics for the space program. Entering my junior year at Caltech studying MechE/Robotics and Aerospace, my dream has expanded to include combining robotics with AI, and ultimately AI supported by quantum computing. Quantum mechanics is fascinating, and I have been fortunate to work for CERN both at Caltech and onsite in Switzerland. I enjoy the evolving theories of physics, and my focus is to bridge new discoveries into practical applications. I agree with Einstein’s philosophy that we cannot solve current problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created the problems. Part of my strong motivation to innovate comes from my childhood. When I was four, my sister suddenly went blind. Working through this trauma together helped us grow tremendously. When she learned Braille, I learned Braille; when she learned new strategies for mobility and academics, I did too; when she adapted to intake audio at 475 words per minute, so did I. Most importantly, I learned that with perseverance, creativity, and the right attitude, almost anything can be accomplished.
- Undergraduate Student, Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Manny Rodriguez
My name's Manuel (Manny) Rodriguez and I'm a rising senior in Page (Whose House?) majoring in CS! Right now, I'm really interested in music and playing guitar, and coming off a summer away without having mine, I'm excited to get back into it. I love classic rock like the Beatles, Queen, and RHCP. If you are too, let's chat! My research last semester that I hope to continue was in EEG signal decoding using machine learning for imagined movements at ARCL under Professor Soon-Jo Chung and my mentor Yujin An. Recently, I've also been tinkering around with an interest in quantitative finance using ML! Lastly, I gotta mention my housemates in some capacity. Writing this in the summer, I'm excited to come back, see everyone, get better at pool, and goon around again. Page house, best house, no questions. And if you don't believe me, come check us out!
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering
Cui Ye
I joined Professor Wei Gao’s research group in July 2021 as a postdoctoral scholar. My research interests encompass wearable devices, biosensors, electroanalytical chemistry, microfluidics, nanotechnology, and personalized medicine. Specifically, I focus on nucleic acid-based wearable sensing systems for non-invasive, real-time biofluid analysis. Despite significant progress in wearable biosensors for physiological data collection, many existing systems struggle to accurately detect trace-level biomarkers, such as female hormones. To address this challenge, I fabricated a ring-like wearable devices that achieves picomolar-level sensitivity for non-invasive female hormones monitoring. This technology is currently being commercialized by the startup Persperity Health, where I serve as a scientific advisor with the goal of providing affordable and highly sensitive monitoring solutions for female reproductive hormones. Outside of academia and work, I enjoy hiking and swimming, activities that help me maintain a balanced lifestyle and support both my physical and mental well-being.
- Undergraduate Student, Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Juan Manuel Renteria
Hi! I’m a first-generation senior undergraduate student studying Mechanical Engineering with the plan of focusing on medical robotics. I’m inspired to work in medical engineering because of the challenges I’ve experienced being born with my disability, Klippel Trenaunay Weber Syndrome, which affects my right leg. It's a condition that has, and will, affect me my whole life, but I’m proud and fortunate to be succeeding at Caltech and life despite the extra care my leg requires of me. If you know of any ways I can speak up about my condition/experience at Caltech or beyond, please reach out to me at [email protected]. I’m currently doing research with the AMBER Lab developing a hand design for their upcoming humanoid robot, ADAM. I also held the position of President of Caltech’s Hispanic and Latino Association (CHLA) last year, where we work to create a strong Latino/Hispanic community and share our diverse culture with each other and the rest of the Caltech community. I also really love music, cooking, and photography. I recently made Mexican Milanesa and Japanese Onigiri while having Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost (2021) and Jack Kerouac’s Poetry for the Beat Generation (1958) on repeat.
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Israel Kellersztein
My research interests revolve around understanding how composite materials achieve optimal mechanical properties through multiscale reinforcement, hierarchical structural organization, and interface tuning—features commonly seen in natural systems. During my PhD, I studied the connection between the hierarchical structure and multiscale mechanical properties of the scorpion pincers' exoskeleton, aiming to understand why scorpions have different claw shapes and sizes. As a postdoctoral scholar, under the supervision of Professor Chiara Daraio, I focus on designing microalgae-based biocomposite materials using 3D printing for structural applications. Currently, I am studying the structure-property relationship of these biocomposite materials, aiming to balance thermal insulation with structural capabilities. Outside my research, I enjoy spending time with my family, listening to heavy metal music and sports.
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Maryam Alghannam
I am a postdoctoral fellow in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, working with Professors Nadia Lapusta and Ruby Fu. I am interested in understanding the frictional and flow behavior in fault zones, from stick-slip to clogging. Prior to Caltech, I got my BS from Texas A&M University, MS from UC Berkeley and PhD from MIT. During my PhD, I worked on modeling human-induced earthquakes using spring-sliders. I also worked in the energy industry for a few years, where I was responsible for modeling fluid flow through porous media in underground reservoirs. I am originally from Saudi Arabia, born and raised there, and enjoy visiting as much as I can. In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends and family, walking around, and trying new foods.
- Grants Manager Assistant, Engineering and Applied Science
Kaylee Kellum
I joined the Division of Engineering and Applied Science in 2021 as a Grants Manager Assistant. Prior to joining Caltech, I received my bachelor’s degree in communication and a minor in sociology from California State University, San Marcos. After college, I pursued a career as a Financial Aid Advisor at a Cosmetology school in Pasadena and, shortly after, transitioned to an Automotive and Welding school in San Bernardino County. My ultimate career goal would be to stay in higher education and keep progressing in my current field. During my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and 5-month-old daughter, trying new recipes that I find on Pinterest, and baking sourdough bread from start to finish. Someday I would love to set up a booth at a farmers market and sell my sourdough, but for now I will keep baking it for weekly dinners, friends and family.
- Graduate Student, Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering
Haixu Shen
I'm a 4th year graduate student in Medical Engineering, working with Professor Yu-Chong Tai. My research mainly focuses on translation medical devices, in particular, an affordable and portable stroke sensor for quick stroke detection for home or ambulance settings. In this way, patients can get a quick diagnosis before even arriving at the hospital, which can vastly speed up the treatment and reduce brain damage. I enjoy the multidisciplinary nature of my research, having to learn knowledge from various fields. Outside of research, I like exploring foods from different cultures. I also enjoy playing basketball with my friends.