People Spotlights

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.

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.

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.

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.

Xingxing Zuo

Before joining Caltech as a postdoc in January 2024, I had the pleasure of working as a full-time research scientist at Google. My academic journey led me to get my doctoral degree from Zhejiang University, China, in 2021, followed by a Postdoc position at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) from 2021 to 2023. My research interests are centered around robotic perception and 3D computer vision. I am passionate about advancing the perceptual and spatial intelligence of mobile robots by harnessing the potential of combining data-driven deep neural networks with the principles of state estimation. My long-term aspiration is to empower robots with human-level perception and intelligence. At Caltech, I am fortunate to be co-advised by two distinguished professors: Professor Soon-Jo Chung, an expert in the field of robotics, and Professor Georgia Gkioxari, a renowned figure in computer vision. I am eagerly looking forward to engaging with the fantastic research opportunities that lie ahead and contributing to the vibrant scientific community at Caltech.

Graduate Student, Mechanical and Civil Engineering

Emily de Jong

I moved to Caltech from Princeton University in 2019, excited and nervous to enter the world of mechanical engineering and fluid mechanics after my ChemE undergraduate degree. Ultimately, I found myself studying very small-scale phenomena in the atmosphere—the liquid water and ice particles that make up a cloud, which are inherently challenging to model, yet crucial to Earth's climate and weather. I have always been interested in the dynamics and mathematics of complex physical systems related to energy and the environment, and learning and applying new mathematical and modeling techniques. Cloud microphysics has been the perfect topic to satisfy this curiosity while also contributing to our understanding of changes and feedback in the atmosphere in future climate scenarios. When I'm not deriving, coding, or writing at my desk, I go outside for "observational fieldwork," observing real clouds from a distance on my bicycling, climbing, and hiking adventures in the mountains.

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