Seminar Day Photos
Photos of the 76th Annual Seminar Day on Flickr. ( Open in new window » ) Photographer: Allison Maker ’15
Photo Booth!
Photos from the Caltech Fund reception on 5.17.
Photo Booth!
Fun photo booth shots from Tom Mannion's party on 5.17.
Class Photos
Some of the class photos taken on Friday, May 17th
Asynchronous Reunion
The classes of 1974 – 1981 banded together to hold an "Asynchronous Reunion" this weekend, filled with activities. Here are some of their photos (via Flickr).
Reception at the President's House
Thursday evening kicked off with a wonderful reception at the home of President Jean-Lou Chameau and Carol Carmichael. Just a few pictures.
The Final Frontier: Understanding the Human Brain
Alumni and guests gathered on April 4th for a reception and lecture by Caltech faculty member Dr. Ralph Adolphs, Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Professor of Biology and Director of the Caltech Brain Imaging Center.
Miss the lecture? You can hear it now.
The Final Frontier: Understanding the Human Brain
At the turn of the 20th Century, the great mathematician, David Hilbert, presented 10 "unsolved problems" in mathematics that subsequently set much of the agenda for modern mathematics. The exercise was useful not only for formulating the problems in the first place, but also for characterizing them-- some were easy to solve, or could be proven to be solvable; others were unsolvable; and some were realized as simply too vague to admit of further progress. A similar reflection in neuroscience also produces "10 most important unsolved problems in neuroscience", and again we can take stock of these as ones that will be solved soon, are clearly solvable but may require quite some time, and ones that may never be solved.
Dr. Adolphs outlined what he thinks are the 10 big questions in neuroscience today and comment on each of them. They range from difficult conceptual questions about the nature of conscious experience, to practically important questions about how to cure Alzheimer's disease and autism. Along the way, he showed examples of some specific progress coming from our research at Caltech, where he leads a laboratory that investigates human social behavior (including clinical populations such as people with autism) and directed the Caltech Brain Imaging Center. Dr. Adolphs also noted some of the recent advances made by other neuroscience faculty at Caltech.
Hosted By:
The Caltech Alumni Association and Michelle Armond (BS ’00), partner at Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP (where the event was held).
Fashion for the Nerd in All of Us
Here's a fun divdersion.
Spiros Michalakis, director of outreach for Caltech's Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, postdoc Crystal Dilworth and Alicia Hardesty, former contestant on Project Runway teamed up for this awesome kickstarter project. Check it out! »
Welcome
Jean-Lou Chameau
President, Caltech
Jim Simmons (BS ’72)
President, Caltech Alumni Association
When Caltech leaders were asked to describe what makes Caltech special earlier this year, there was—as you might imagine—no single answer among them.
The Caltech advantage is rooted in its parts: the extraordinary faculty who choose to develop their scientific careers here, the young scholars who learn to question and problem solve here, and you—our alumni—who venture from our campus to explore, invent, build, and innovate.
This year was no exception. In October, Caltech was recognized—for the second consecutive year—as the world’s top institution of higher education by the UK’s Times Higher Education. This international recognition came just months after Caltech scientists and Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers landed the car-sized analytical laboratory called Curiosity on Mars, and after a Caltech team contributed to the discovery of the long-sought Higgs boson, the fundamental particle that is thought to endow elementary particles with mass.
Beyond our campus borders, Caltech’s 22,000 alumni continue to exemplify our story of excellence. Take a moment to read about this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipients and you will find groundbreaking contributions in research, academics, business, and philanthropy.
You will also find that they are people very much like yourself. Every day, you take bold leaps to solve unique problems, drawing upon the skills and training that you received while at Caltech. Your contributions as researchers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, and inventors advance the bounds of our collective knowledge and help to shape our world.
Your Caltech degree offers you a place among—and access to—one of the most accomplished alumni networks of any institution. The Caltech Alumni Association, in partnership with Caltech, works to help you realize the full potential of that network, personally and professionally: through regular news updates, local and regional events, social networking, professional development, and more.
We invite you to join us on campus for Alumni Reunion Weekend and the 76th annual Alumni Seminar Day, where you will have the opportunity to learn about current research, connect with friends and colleagues, and share your own news.
You are an indispensable part of the Caltech story. From the time that you first stepped onto campus, your pas- sion and commitment to pursuing knowledge and excellence has helped make Caltech one of the world’s leading science and engineering research institutions. We are deeply proud and honored that you discovered Caltech.
For in many ways, our greatest discovery is you.
Jean-Lou Chameau
President, Caltech
Jim Simmons
President, Caltech Alumni Association
Off we go!
This week, we officially launched our new online version of Caltech Connect, including: Profiles of the Distinguished Alumni, A review of the Top News of 2012, and registration for Reunion Weekend and Seminar Day, May 16-19th.
This is just the start. In the coming weeks, we'll be adding new content to this micro-site, such as profiles on alumni, news, and a look back at reunion years.
Still prefer the print version? We've got you covered. The site includes links to download a pdf, and in a couple of weeks, you should receive the full book in the mail.
For now, enjoy the preview, and we look forward to seeing you in May!
Approach. Exchange. Disperse.
(why do we keep saying that? »)