skip to main content
Home  /  Academics  /  Awards and Prizes

Awards and Prizes

New Horizons DEI Awards

With the New Horizons Award, the Division of Engineering and Applied Science annually recognizes and honors individuals within the EAS community who have actively contributed to our goal to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive engineering community. The award is available to members of the EAS community, including current students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, and faculty, whose activities have impact and may include demonstrated leadership, advocacy and community organizing, development of equity and inclusion resources, and engagement in engineering outreach to local schools or communities.

Nominations are solicited each spring – click here for how to nominate.

EAS Chair Scholars Program

The EAS Chair Scholars Program recognizes high-achieving graduate students with the potential and interest to advance issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the EAS Division and Caltech. EAS Chair Scholars and Caltech Presidential Fellows participate as a cohort in faculty mentorship and supplementary programming designed as a "fast-track" to academic and leadership success. Scholars and Fellows will connect with faculty members and peers to receive mentoring and professional development opportunities within the numerous EAS departments.

At Caltech and the EAS Division, we believe the best ideas, best decisions, and best outcomes come from diverse groups of people working and collaborating together.

Founded in 2020 as part of the EAS Division's commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, this fellowship program involves graduate students of high academic achievement who have also shown a commitment to diversity, either through personal experience or community-building in STEM.

Key benefits of participating in the EAS Chair Scholars Program include:

  • An attractive financial offer, including a two-year fellowship and $3,000 professional development fund per year for two years to cover professional costs.
  • Membership in a diverse cohort of scholars for the duration of graduate degree enrollment, and networking opportunities which will extend beyond residency at Caltech.
  • Formal mentorship from EAS leadership and faculty.
  • Fast track to teaching, which will develop and refine teaching skills early in participants' graduate careers.
  • Access to optional outreach opportunities through engagement with national conferences, Caltech's Center for Learning and Outreach (CTLO) and Student Faculty Programs (SFP), and Caltech Y outreach to local schools.

Young Investigators Lecture Series

Caltech's Young Investigators Lecture Series (YILS) and Young Investigator Forum (YIF) in Engineering and Applied Science showcase selected outstanding early career researchers who advance the frontiers of research and invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion in their communities. PhD students, postdoctoral scholars, and researchers in industry who are within 3 years of receiving their PhD are eligible to apply. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from candidates from groups historically underrepresented in STEM, regardless of sex or race/ethnicity.

Young Investigator Lecturers, typically postdoctoral scholars or senior graduate students, are invited to give a seminar to a Caltech department audience. Candidates for the Young Investigator Forum are typically mid- and early-career graduate students. Selected YIF nominees are invited to present a short conference-style talk in a forum event.

These programs are hosted by the Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) at Caltech and provide research exposure and networking opportunities with our faculty and the Caltech community.

Richard Bruce Chapman Memorial Award

The Richard B. Chapman Memorial Award is given to an EAS graduate student in hydrodynamics who has distinguished himself or herself in research.

Henry Ford II Scholar Award

The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is awarded annually to engineering students with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study.

Demetriades - Tsafka - Kokkalis Prizes

The Demetriades - Tsafka - Kokkalis Prizes were endowed by a generous grant from Sterge Demetriades and his wife Anna Kokkalis Demetriades.

A cash prize is awarded at a special dinner to each PhD candidate selected for the best thesis, publication, or discovery in the following fields:

  • Biotechnology or Related Fields,
  • Environmentally Benign Renewable Energy Sources or Related Fields,
  • Nanotechnology or Related Fields, and
  • Seismo-Engineering, Prediction, and Protection

Also a prize in Entrepreneurship or Related Fields is awarded to a graduating student for the best business plan, proposal, start-up, or related efforts at Caltech.

Northrop Grumman Prize for Excellence in Teaching

The Northrop Grumman Prize for Excellence in Teaching is awarded to an EAS professor or lecturer who demonstrates, in the broadest sense, unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate and graduate classroom or laboratory teaching.