News & Events

01-14-21

There are things in life that can be predicted reasonably well. The tides rise and fall. A billiard ball bounces around a table according to orderly geometry. And then there are things that defy easy prediction: The hurricane that changes direction without warning. The splashing of water in a fountain. These phenomena and others like them can be described as chaotic systems. Lihong Wang, Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, has developed a new tool that might help to better understand chaotic systems. [Caltech story]

Tags: EE research highlights MedE Lihong Wang

01-13-21

Steven Low, Frank J. Gilloon Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and Electrical Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He is being recognized, “for theoretical foundations and real-world deployment of Internet congestion control and smart grid optimization.” The ACM Fellows Program recognizes and honors outstanding ACM members for their achievements in computer science and information technology. [ACM release]

Tags: EE honors CMS Steven Low

01-13-21

Mathieu Desbrun, Carl F Braun Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, has been named a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He is being recognized, “for contributions to geometry processing and discrete differential geometry.” The ACM Fellows Program recognizes and honors outstanding ACM members for their achievements in computer science and information technology. [ACM release]

Tags: honors CMS Mathieu Desbrun

01-11-21

Michael Mello, Teaching Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, has received the 2021 M.M. Frocht Award. The award recognizes "outstanding achievement as an educator in the field of experimental mechanics." [Past Recipients]

Tags: honors MCE Michael Mello

01-04-21

Professor Julia Greer has developed a process for generating three-dimensional architected polymers with heat-dependent "shape memory" properties: that is, when heated, the material folds and unfolds itself into a new preordained shape. These shape memory polymers could one day be used to perform complex tasks inside the human body, such as unclogging a blocked artery or pulling out a blood clot. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights Julia Greer Luizetta Elliott

12-16-20

The National Science Foundation (NSF) honored John O. Dabiri, Centennial Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, with the 2020 Alan T. Waterman Award. The NSF has released a video interview with the Waterman awardees. The Alan T. Waterman Award is given to an outstanding young U.S. scientist or engineer along with a medal and other recognition. "This year's scientific pioneers are innovators who are creatively addressing some of the most challenging scientific questions," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "John Dabiri has looked to the fluid mechanics of sea life for inspiration to build better wind farms that appear to boost efficiency with a much smaller footprint." [NSF Interview with Dabiri] [NSF story] [Caltech story]

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE John Dabiri

12-15-20

Caltech Distinguished Alumnus, Roddam Narasimha, passed away on December 14, 2020, at the age of 87. Dr. Narasimha received his Ph.D. (1961) in Aeronautics from Caltech. He was a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Science, and more recently, the Year-of-Science Chair Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. He was also a former director of the Indian National Aerospace Laboratories. Narasimha was a Clark B. Millikan Visiting Professor and a Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar at Caltech. He made outstanding and wide-ranging scientific contributions in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, and was internationally known for his research in turbulence with applications in geophysical fluid dynamics and atmospheric sciences. Narasimha was a foreign member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the Royal Society. [Obituary]

Tags: EAS history alumni Roddam Narasimha

12-10-20

Nadia Lapusta, Lawrence A. Hanson, Jr., Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Geophysics, has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This honor is given to individual AGU members who have made exceptional scientific contributions and gained prominence in their respective fields of Earth and space sciences. [AGU release]

Tags: honors MCE Nadia Lapusta

12-10-20

Lihong Wang, Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, has been named fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election as a fellow is the highest professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. The Wang lab has developed photoacoustic imaging that allows researchers to see into biological tissues noninvasively, and to peer deeper into the body by nearly two orders of magnitude compared to conventional optical microscopy. [Caltech story] [List of 2020 Fellows]

Tags: EE honors MedE Lihong Wang

12-10-20

Changhuei Yang, Thomas G. Myers Professor of Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Medical Engineering, has been named fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election as a fellow is the highest professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. The Yang lab develops technologies aimed at transforming the conventional microscope so that it can be used for high-throughput, automated applications. He also works on the use of "time-reversal" techniques to undo the effect of tissue light scattering. [Caltech story] [List of 2020 Fellows]

Tags: EE honors Changhuei Yang MedE