News

12-19-19

Austin Minnich, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics, Fernando Brandão, Bren Professor of Theoretical Physics, and Garnet Chan, Bren Professor of Chemistry, have developed an algorithm for quantum computers that will help them find use in simulations in the physical sciences. The new algorithm allows a user to find the lowest energy of a given molecule or material. Many people are interested in how to simulate the ground states of molecules and materials. "If we want to do a simulation of water, we could look at how water behaves after it has been blasted into a plasma—an electrically charged gas—but that's not the state water is usually found in; it is not the ground state of water. Ground states are of special interest in understanding the world under ordinary conditions," says Chan. [Caltech story]

Tags: research highlights Austin Minnich Fernando Brandão Garnet Chan

12-19-19

Aaron Ames, Bren Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Control and Dynamical Systems, has won the Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize. This prize is given to recognize outstanding achievement in research in systems and control by a young researcher and to honor the memory of Dr. Antonio Ruberti. [Past recipients]

Tags: honors MCE Aaron Ames

10-17-19

Graduate Students Noel Csomay-Shanklin, Berthy Feng, Zongyi Li, and Wyatt Ubellacker have been selected for the Kortschak Scholars Program. It was founded in 2017 with the objective of launching a new era of scholarship, inquiry, and innovation in Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Caltech. The program provides multi-year fellowships to entering PhD students, allowing them to explore emerging areas in computing and mathematical sciences without being tied to grants and quarterly deliverables. [Current Scholars]

Tags: honors CMS Noel Csomay-Shanklin Zongyi Li Berthy Feng Wyatt Ubellacker

10-10-19

Caltech has launched the Schmidt Academy for Software Engineering to train the next generation of science-savvy software engineers and set new standards in scientific software. "This is a recognition that computing, software, and machine learning are going to play a very big role in science. Because Caltech is small and collaborative, we have the opportunity to really make a push in that direction," says Kaushik Bhattacharya, the Howell N. Tyson, Sr., Professor of Mechanics and Materials Science and vice provost. [Caltech release]

Tags: APhMS EE research highlights MCE CMS Tapio Schneider Donnie Pinkston Kaushik Bhattacharya

10-02-19

Caltech alumni and members of the Information Science and Technology (IST) Advisory Council brought forty Caltech students to the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration. The Grace Hopper Celebration is the world's largest gathering of women technologists.

Tags: IST

09-09-19

Katie Bouman, Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and Rosenberg Scholar, has been named a recipient of the 2020 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics as part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team that generated the first-ever image of a black hole. [Caltech story] [Breakthrough Prize Announcement]

Tags: honors CMS Katie Bouman Breakthrough Prize

09-04-19

EDF Renewables North America has acquired PowerFlex Systems, a pioneer in managed electric vehicle (EV) charging technology. PowerFlex’s patented technology was incubated out of Steven Low’s NetLab research laboratory. PowerFlex and EDF Renewables agree on the vision of large-scale EV adoption that will achieve meaningful reductions of carbon emissions in the transportation sector. [Read full article]

Tags: CMS Steven Low

08-19-19

Professors Aaron Ames and Joel Burdick have launched a new research initiative, RoAMS (Robotic Assisted Mobility Science), aimed at restoring natural and stable locomotion to individuals with walking deficiencies that result from spinal cord injuries and strokes. RoAMS unites robotic assistive devices—including exoskeletons and prostheses—with artificial intelligence (AI)-infused neurocontrol. "Bipedal walking is difficult to achieve in a stable fashion," says Professor Ames. "While crutches help users of the exoskeletons to stay upright, they undercut many of the health benefits that upright locomotion might otherwise provide. In addition, they do not allow users to do anything else with their hands while walking." [Caltech story]

Tags: research highlights MedE Yu-Chong Tai MCE CMS Joel Burdick Yisong Yue Aaron Ames

07-30-19

Houman Owhadi, Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Control and Dynamical Systems, has received the Germund Dahlquist Prize from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The prize is awarded every two years to one individual for original contributions to numerical solution of differential equations and numerical methods for scientific computing. [List of Past Recipients]

Tags: honors CMS Houman Owhadi

07-26-19

Peter Schroeder, Shaler Arthur Hanisch Professor of Computer Science and Applied and Computational Mathematics, and colleagues have generated a computer simulation of underwater bubble rings that is so realistic it is virtually indistinguishable from a video of the real thing. "What drives me is finding these beautiful descriptions of something that looks terribly complicated but can be reduced to a few mathematical key concepts. Then the rest just follows from there. There's beauty in seeing that a very simple principle all of a sudden gives rise to the complex appearance we perceive," Professor Schröder says. [Caltech story]

Tags: research highlights CMS Peter Schroeder