Honors and Awards

The AI4Science Fellows program is a result of a partnership between Caltech and Amazon around machine learning and artificial intelligence. The program recognizes graduate students and postdoctoral scholars that have had a remarkable impact in these areas, and in their application to fields beyond computer science.

Computing, Data, and Society fellows conduct cutting-edge research in computing and data science, broadly construed, with the potential for direct or indirect societal benefits.

Example areas of focus include Algorithmic Fairness, Ethical AI, Explainable AI, Disinformation, Algorithmic Economics, Privacy, Security, smart grid, sustainable computing; applied mathematics, core computer science, and control theory with applications to climate, energy, water, transportation, medicine, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, agriculture, and sociology.

The Kaplun Fellowship was established by Morris Kaplun in honor of his son, who was a senior research fellow at Caltech. The Fellowship funds graduate research in applied mathematics, the field in which Saul worked devotedly until his untimely passing in 1964.

The Kortschak Scholars Program was founded in 2017 with the objective of launching a new era of scholarship, inquiry, and innovation in computing and mathematical sciences at Caltech. Caltech trustee and venture capitalist Walter Kortschak (MS '82), with his wife, Marcia, created the program through a $5 million gift for endowed graduate fellowships.

More information about the Kortschak Scholars Program can be found here.

The LEAP Alliance is focused on diversifying future leadership in the computing professoriate as a way to increase diversity across the field of computing.  In terms of diversity, the LEAP Alliance focuses on doctoral students from the following communities:  African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans/Indigenous Americans, and Students with Disabilities. Being recognized as a LEAP Fellow provides the following opportunities:

• Community of LEAP Fellows:  The LEAP Alliance provides opportunities for the LEAP Fellows at the institutions within a given cohort to meet in-person at events such as the Tapia Conference, as well as virtually via webinars and other activities.  In addition to getting to know the LEAP Fellows within a cohort, the LEAP Alliance provides opportunities to get to know other LEAP Fellows across all three cohorts focused on computing doctoral programs.
• Professional Develop Activities:  The LEAP Alliance works with companies such as Google and Microsoft to provide professional development activities to learn about research in industry as well as academic career paths via the CMD-IT Academic Careers Workshops, organized in collaboration with CAHSI and AccessComputing.
• Mentoring Program:  The LEAP Alliance will develop a mentoring program that goes across the individual institutions.

The PIMCO Fellows Program is the result of a partnership between Caltech and PIMCO around Data Science at the interface of the Social and Information Sciences. The program recognizes and supports graduate students and postdoctoral scholars that have had a remarkable impact in data science, broadly defined, and its application to the social sciences.

Graduate Students

Postdoctoral Scholars

The Simoudis Discovery Prize provides seed funds for emerging projects at the intersection of big data, machine learning, and autonomy. The funds are allocated yearly to support proposed research from student or postdoc in these areas, with the recipient selected by a committee of faculty.

The Amori Prize was established in 2017 by Michael Amori (MS 2007) to honor outstanding dissertations in the computing and mathematical sciences during the current academic year. Awardees are selected by a committee of computing and mathematical sciences faculty each spring.

The Bhansali Family Prize was established by Vineer Bhansali (B.S. '87, M.S. '87) in memory of his grandfather, Mag Raj Bhansali and his father Rajendra Kumar Bhansali. The prize and honorarium are given to honor outstanding dissertations in computer science, broadly defined, during the current academic year. Awardees are selected by a committee of computer science faculty each spring.

The Carey & Co. Prize was established by William P. Carey and W. P. Carey & Co., Inc. The prize and honorarium are awarded to outstanding doctoral dissertations in applied mathematics in the current academic year. Awardees are selected by a committee of applied mathematics faculty.

The Ben P.C. Chou Doctoral Prize recognizes outstanding doctoral dissertations in the broad area of information science and technology. The Prize was established by his wife, June, and his son, Scott (BS 1986), as a lasting tribute for Ben's lifetime dedication to the pursuit of scholarly research and foregoing personal gain in favor of always doing the right thing for society.

Professor Pen-chu "Ben" Chou was born in China and suffered a childhood disrupted by a revolutionary war that ultimately took his father. At the age of 13, his mother took him and his two younger sisters to Taiwan as war refugees where she raised the three of them on her own. Prof Chou went on to complete his undergraduate at Tunghai University, his master's degree at the University of Missouri, and his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma. He spent the bulk of his career doing research and teaching at The Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston and Jilin University in Changchun, China. Prof Chou is noted for his pioneering contributions in developing photoreactivity for thin film superconductors and helping establish OCEF, an international charitable foundation headquartered in Houston, Texas.

The Bhansali Family Prize was established in 2001 by Vineer Bhansali (B.S. '87, M.S. '87) in memory of his grandfather, Mag Raj Bhansali. The prize and honorarium are awarded to an undergraduate student for outstanding research in computer science in the current academic year. Awardees are selected by a committee of computer science faculty.

The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is funded under an endowment provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund. The award is made annually to the engineering student with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study.

The Fredrick J. Zeigler Memorial Award was established in 1989 to honor Fredrick J. Zeigler, a member of the class of 1976 and an applied mathematics major. The award recognizes excellence in scholarship as demonstrated in class activities or in the preparation of an original paper or essay in any subject area within mathematics or applied mathematics.

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.

The Northrup Grumman Prize is awarded EAS-wide and the following CMS professors have been recipients of the award. The full list of recipients can be found here.

The Graduate Teaching in CMS Award was established in 2016 with a gift from Microsoft and then endowed through the generosity of Thomas A. Tisch (BS '61). The prize and honorarium are awarded to a graduate student for outstanding teaching and course development in computing and mathematical sciences. Awardees are selected by a committee of CMS faculty members.

The Undergraduate Teaching in CMS Award was established in 2016 with a gift from Microsoft and then endowed through the generosity of Thomas A. Tisch (BS '61). The prize and honorarium are awarded to an undergraduate student for outstanding teaching and course development in computing and mathematical sciences. Awardees are selected by a committee of CMS faculty members.

The Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching was established in 1993 to honor annually a professor who demonstrates, in the broadest sense, unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate and graduate classroom or laboratory teaching.

The Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching is awarded campus-wide and the following CMS professors have been recipients of the award. The full list of recipients can be found here.

These awards are presented once a year by the Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology (ASCIT) to faculty members and teaching assistants who have been nominated by the students for their ability to inspire and motivate students through teaching.

The ASCIT Teaching Award is awarded campus-wide and the following CMS professors have been recipients of the award. The full list of recipients can be found here.

The CMS and IST Gradient for Change Awards honor students, postdocs, staff, and faculty in the Caltech community who demonstrate exceptional efforts to make Caltech and/or the broader scientific community a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. The awards recognize and highlight individual contributors or small teams who are considered agents of change, community leaders, and/or allies to historically marginalized group(s) in the information sciences, including computer science, applied mathematics, and beyond.

More information can be found here.

Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences Award for Excellence in Mentoring

The Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences Award for Excellence in Mentoring is given to outstanding alumni mentors who consistently provide invaluable advice, time, and connections to undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. These mentors are able to connect with a diverse group of young scientists and engineers, promoting opportunity for all, and supporting an informed, confident community.