Faculty

Professor of Electrical Engineering and Executive Officer for Electrical Engineering, and Associate Director of Information Science and Technology

Hassibi's research is in communications, information theory, signal processing, and control. He is currently most interested in various information-theoretic and algorithmic aspects of wireless communications, especially wireless networks.

Professor of Engineering Seismology

Professor Heaton focuses on engineering seismology, and earthquake rupture physics.

Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Tracey Ho's research investigates fundamental limits on and strategies for efficient and robust network communication, using techniques from coding and information theory.

James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science

Hoffmann's group studies many facets of environmental science including: environmental chemistry, cloud and aerosol chemistry, chemical kinetics, semiconductor photocatalysis, sonochemistry, electrochemistry, radiation chemistry, advanced oxidation technologies, chemical catalysis applied to pollution control, photochemistry, chemical reaction mechanisms relevant to environmental systems.

Charles Lee Powell Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics

Professor Hou focuses on modeling, computation, and mathematical analysis of vortex dynamics, interfacial flows, and multiscale problems. His recent research interests include fundamental problems such as the global regularity or possible finite time blow-up of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations, multiscale modeling of 3D incompressible flows, data-driven stochastic multiscale methods, and adaptive data analysis for nonlinear and nonstationary data.

William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Vice Provost

Professor Hunt focuses on heat transfer and fluid mechanics associated with granular and particulate flows, fluidized beds, and porous media; convective flows in buoyancy driven flows, rotating machinery, and complex fluid systems.

Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science

William Johnson's research includes studies of metallic materials including liquid alloys, bulk metallic glasses, nanostructured metals, and metal-matrix composites. Also, applications of metallic glasses as structural materials in sporting goods, aircraft, and military hardware, etc.

Assistant Professor of Aerospace

Professor Kochmann's research combines theoretical, computational, and experimental solid mechanics to study the link between microstructure and macroscopic properties of a variety of engineering materials. One of his areas of research is the simulation of microstructures in crystalline solids (such as metals). In contrast to many current phenomenological theories, Professor Kochmann's research aims at physics-based and hence predictive multiscale models applicable to polycrystal plasticity and twinning. Another of his research areas is the design of novel composite materials with tunable performance, for instance, materials whose stiffness and damping can be tuned by orders of magnitude, reaching viscoelastic stiffness greater than that of a diamond. He designs these materials using a careful composite architecture and utilizing phases with so-called negative-stiffness mechanisms.

Assistant Professor of Structural Engineering and Geophysics

Professor Krishnan's research group is striving to unify computational seismology and earthquake engineering in the form of rupture-to-rafters simulations for robust earthquake damage prediction, preparation, mitigation, and disaster response.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Geophysics

Nadia Lapusta's research interests include computational mechanics, fracture and frictional processes, mechanics and physics of earthquakes.

Professor of Environmental Microbiology

Leadbetter’s research program at Caltech focuses on interspecies microbial interactions and has two distinct thrusts.

One is lignocellulose conversion by the complex microbial communities present in the guts of termites.

The other is the biodegradation of (and related research on) an important class of bacterial signaling molecules, acyl-homoserine lactones.

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Economics

Professor Ligett's research focuses on mathematical and computational approaches to fundamental problems in algorithmic game theory and in data privacy, with a particular emphasis on techniques from computational learning theory.

Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Control and optimization of communication and cyber-physical networks such as the Internet and power networks. Current research focuses on engineering and economics of power systems including optimal power flow, demand-side management, distributed generation, etc.; energy efficient computing and communication; and fundamental issues in network architecture. Emphasis is on the interplay between theory, algorithms, prototyping, and experimental studies to maximize potential impact.

Professor of Computer Science

Professor Martin focuses on asynchronous VLSI and parallel architecture.

Professor of Aeronautics; Associate Director, Graduate Aerospace Laboratories

Professor McKeon's research interests include interdisciplinary approaches to the manipulation and control of boundary layer flows using morphing surfaces, and fundamental investigations of wall turbulence at high Reynolds number.

Space-Related Research

Efficiency and performance challenges in aerospace vehicle design.

Fletcher Jones Professor of Aeronautics and Applied and Computational Mathematics

Professor Meiron's research focuses on computation and modelling of basic fluid mechanical phenomena. Particular interests include shock driven flow instabilities, turbulence, simulation approaches for high strain rate solid mechanics. He is also interested on development of adaptive numeriocal methods for such flows that are suitable for high performance computation.

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Professor Minnich researches the physics and engineering of nanoscale heat transport. Nanostructured materials have novel thermal properties with applications in energy such as for thermoelectric materials, which convert heat directly to electricity. Minnich uses experimental techniques, including ultrafast optical experiments, to study transport at the length and time scales of the energy carriers themselves. These experiments measure properties of the energy carriers that are lost at macroscopic scales, allowing for a more complete understanding of nanoscale transport physics. Minnich also uses these results to design novel materials and thermal devices, such as more efficient thermoelectric materials and devices for thermal energy storage.

Thomas E. and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering

Research in Richard Murray's group is in the application of feedback and control to networked systems, with applications in biology and autonomy. Current projects include novel control system architectures, biomolecular feedback systems and networked control systems.

Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering

Professor Ortiz's research interests include solid mechanics, computational mechanics, and nonlinear and failure processes in solids.

Space-Related Research

Inflatable space structures; helicopter rotor-blade dynamics.

Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Control and Dynamical Systems

Professor Owhadi focuses on the modeling and analysis of systems characterized by multiple scales, geometric structures, noise and uncertainties.
At the center of his work are fundamental problems such as non-separated scales, anomalous diffusion, the geometric integration of multi-scale stochastic mechanical systems and the optimal quantification of uncertainties in presence of limited information.