People Spotlights

Lead Systems Engineer, NASA Ames Mission Design Center

Kevin Parkin

Kevin Parkin (MS '00, PhD '06, Aeronautics) is a rocket scientist, inventor, and a visionary transforming sci-fi into reality. Currently the Lead Systems Engineer for the NASA Ames Mission Design Center, Parkin has returned to the place he helped establish in 2007, where he began his career after graduating from Caltech. His career highlights include the invention of the microwave thermal rocket, a breakthrough from his graduate studies at Caltech, which he has further developed through collaborations with NASA and DARPA.

Michelle Armond

Michelle Armond (BS '00, electrical engineering and history) loves being a lawyer. Informed by her Caltech undergraduate training, Armond's two-decade professional journey as an intellectual property litigator is marked by her unique ability to navigate both legal and technical complexity. Five years ago, Armond's career took a bold turn when she and a colleague started their own law firm in 2019, Armond Wilson LLP.

Paul Wegener

Paul T. Wegener (BS '71) is dedicated to transforming ideas into groundbreaking innovations. His career spans environmental engineering and pharmaceuticals, with ventures that range from pioneering an ocean wave energy conversion device to exploring green tea extract as a treatment for viral infections. Despite claiming to be retired, Wegener continues to analyze data sets and clinical trials—driven by his passion for invention—and he welcomes discussion and input from anyone interested in his work.

Elena Priesen Reis

Hello everyone! I'm Elena, a Materials Science G2 in Professor Brent Fultz's group (just graduated with my master's, woop!). I also have an MSci from University College London in physics and now combine these two areas to research quirky thermophysical properties of magnetic systems, like magnetocaloric materials (which change temperature through their magnetic phase transition) and Invar-like alloys (which have nearly zero thermal expansion near their magnetic transition). Outside of research, I'm the coordinator of the Caltech chapter of the Plant-Based Universities initiative, aiming to improve Caltech's sustainability, vice-chair of the EAS Graduate Student Advisory Board, and a member of the Graduate Student Council Board of Directors. I also love cooking delicious vegan meals, teaching my dobie new tricks, doing yoga and meditation, reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, watching anime, and listening to/playing music.

Graduate Student, GALCIT

Alex Acosta

Before joining the Caltech community, I graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, I am a fourth year Aeronautics PhD student in the Caltech Hypersonics Group under Professor Joanna Austin. In this lab, I conduct experiments using Caltech’s Ludwieg Tube, which is capable of accelerating air to four times the speed of sound! My research involves studying how shockwave unsteadiness could adversely couple with the structural vibrations of panel surfaces on high-speed aircraft. The ultimate goal of my project is to enhance our current understanding of shock-boundary layer interactions and to improve the predictive capabilities of fluid-structure computational models. On the weekends, you can find me outdoors hiking around the San Gabriel mountains, shooting photographs on my film cameras, or exploring food spots in LA.

Undergraduate Student, Computer Science

Tia Abraham

Hey Caltech community! I’m a 2nd-year undergraduate, double majoring in Computer Science and Business, Economics, and Management (BEM), with a minor in Environmental Science and Engineering. My academic interests and coursework focus on finance, data analysis, and environmental conservation/climate change. Currently, I’m involved in research with Professor Hannah Druckenmiller, contributing to a project focused on quantifying flood mitigation values using casual machine learning techniques. Specifically, I process large geospatial datasets for input into our machine learning model. This upcoming summer, I’m excited to intern at Southern California Edison, exploring the intersection of technology and environmental sustainability, which allows me to further connect with my research interests and academic pursuits. Outside of academia and work, I enjoy attending sporting events, cheering on my hometown teams, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche, and exploring the outdoors through hiking, biking, or spending time at the beach.

All Spotlights