11-16-11
Michael Elowitz, Professor of Biology and Bioengineering, has received a $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award from the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation to study what happens to cell-to-cell communication and the circuits of interacting biomolecules that control differentiation and other normal cellular processes when cancer takes hold. [Caltech Feature]
11-16-11
William A. Goddard III, Charles and Mary Ferkel Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science, and Applied Physics, has received $1.25 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a process that takes advantage of DNA's talent for self-assembly to arrange nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and proteins into configurations designed for use in devices such as sensors, transistors, and optical components. [Caltech Feature]
11-08-11
Problems where a conflict or tension exists between individual incentives and more global objective are one of the foci of Professor Katrina Ligett's research. "I'm interested in new algorithms, in understanding how difficult it is to solve problems," Ligett, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Economics, says. "There aren't that many places where computer scientists and economists actually talk to each other. At Caltech, people are really interested in and committed to investigating at this intersection, and that's very appealing." [Caltech Feature]
11-07-11
Graduate student, Chen Li, and colleagues including Brent Fultz, Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics, have shown how scandium trifluoride (ScF3) contracts with heat. "A pure quartic oscillator is a lot of fun," Professor Fultz says. "Now that we've found a case that's very pure, I think we know where to look for it in many other materials." Understanding quartic oscillator behavior will help engineers design materials with unusual thermal properties. "In my opinion," Fultz says, "that will be the biggest long-term impact of this work." [Caltech Press Release] [Nature Article]
10-14-11
For the second year the Times Higher Education world university rankings has ranked Caltech as number one in the subject of engineering and technology. [View Rankings] [Caltech Feature]
10-14-11
Caltech has been awarded $12.6 million in funding by the National Science Foundation to create the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), the center will bring physicists and computer scientists together to push theoretical and experimental boundaries in the study of exotic quantum states. The co-directors of this institute are Professors Jeff Kimble, Jim Eisenstein, Oskar Painter, and John Preskill. "When you bring innovative scientists and engineers together and provide them with the facilities and collaborative spaces they need, magic happens. The magic involves transforming the way we think about and impact our world," says EAS Chair Ares Rosakis. [Caltech Press Release]
Tags: APhMS CMS Oskar Painter Ares Rosakis John Preskill Jim Eisenstein
10-13-11
To strengthen fundamental science and technology and foster transformational advances in renewable energies, the Dow Chemical Company and Caltech have established a $10 million partnership. Under the partnership, Dow will provide ongoing support for graduate student research through endowed fellowships which include five in energy science. The Resnick Sustainability Institute is receiving a significant portion of the funding in the agreement. Through the new Dow Chemical Company Bridge/CI2 Innovation Program, financial support will be used to further promising graduate and postdoc research that has the possibility of creating licensable technologies and start-ups. The graduate research fellowships in energy—renewable for up to two years—will help advance clean-energy goals. [Caltech Press Release]
10-12-11
Chiara Daraio, Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Physics, has been named the 2012 Journal of Strain Analysis (JSA) Young Investigator Lecturer by the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM). This award recognizes an SEM member in early to mid-career who demonstrates considerable potential in the field of experimental mechanics. The selection is a public statement by their professional peers of the quality and impact of the contributions that they have made thus far in their career.
Tags: APhMS honors Chiara Daraio GALCIT
10-12-11
Joel W. Burdick, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, and colleagues are recipients of a 2011 Breakthrough Award by Popular Mechanics for their work that helped a paralyzed man stand. The Breakthrough Innovator Awards are in recognition of "innovators whose inventions will make the world smarter, safer, and more efficient in the years to come." [Popular Mechanics Article]
10-07-11
Julia R. Greer, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Mechanics, has been selected by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Materials Division Executive Committee to receive the 2011 Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Award for her research contributions in “physical origins of size-dependent mechanical properties in nano-scale solids”.
Tags: APhMS honors Julia Greer
