Techers make a positive impact on our world through science, technology, and innovation every day. From Nobel Prizes to National Medals, your achievements and honors earned for such innovation are what we celebrate. Share your strides with us!
Duncan Taylor (BS '71) is the lead member of drug discovery team that identified MJ-13754 (nefazodone) as a potential antidepressant agent. His team provided key biochemical support for its in vivo antidepressant activity and supported the development and registrational process to its eventual approval by the FDA in the US, and in Britain and other countries.
Doug Trotter, MD (BS '74) retired after 40 gratifying years as a family physician, including time spent working in western Alaska, Saipan, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Ajit Yoganathan (PhD '78) received the Heart Valve Society Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 for significant impact in heart valve research.
Jack Kaye (PhD '82) received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal and a Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious) in 2022.
Phillip An (BS '18) was recognized on the 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 List in Consumer Technology.
Deborah Chung (BS '73, MS '73) was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Science in 2023.
Paramsothy Jayakumar MD (MS'84, PhD'87) received the 2023 NATO STO Excellence Award for work on the Next-Generation NATO Reference Mobility Model.
David Pepper (MS '74, PhD '80) co-authored a feature article in American Scientist on laser ultrasonics.
Nick Butler (BS '12) was highlighted by Citadel in a corporate video for exceptional work in behavioral modeling.
Steven Barker (MS '68, PhD '72) received a lifetime achievement award from the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research.
Robert Thompson MD (BS '60) wrote a humorous essay reflecting on childhood and Caltech experiences.
Christopher Lacenere (MS '00, PhD '06) was elevated to the position of partner at Sunstein LLP.
Nader Engheta (MS '79, PhD '82) received the 2023 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
William B. Agassounon's (MS '99, PhD '03) outstanding achievements have earned him the prestigious Senior Technology Fellow for the Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA).
Silviu Covrig Dusa (PhD '05) received the DOE Early Career Award in 2012. A research highlight of his achievements was published on the DOE Office of Science website on January 29, 2024.
France Anne-Dominic Córdova, DAA (PhD '79) has been elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Stephen Weiner (PhD '77) has been elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Andrea Ghez (PhD ’92) receiving her Nobel Prize citation and medal on Dec. 9, 2020 in Beverly Hills.
Caltech professor Doris Tsao (BS ’96) was selected as a 2018 MacArthur Fellow for her pioneering work in systems neuroscience. Read more.
Elaine Y. Hsiao, PhD (PhD ’13) was named a winner of the 2022 Innovators in Science Award for Gastroenterology by Takeda and the New York Academy of Sciences for her work on work on how the gut microbiome influences brain and behavior, changing thinking about the cause of neurological conditions including autism and epilepsy. Read more.
Alex V. Filippenko, DAA (PhD ’84), Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at UC Berkeley, has been named recipient of the prestigious 2022 Education Prize by the American Astronomical Society. The AAS Education Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the education of the public, students, and/or the next generation of professional astronomers. Read more.
Tetsuo Yamane [right], PhD (BS '56, PhD '60), former director of the Molecular Biology Department of the Amazon Biotechnology Center and former director of the Science Development Department of the Butantan Institute, has been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun from the Government of Japan for his promotion of academic exchanges between Japan and Brazil. Yamane is 94 years old and still works full time in Manaus, Brazil. The Order of the Rising Sun is the highest civilian honor awarded by the Japanese government.
William L. Ko, PhD (MS '59, PhD '63) formulated Ko Displacement Theory for transforming distributed wing surface strains into wing deformed shape for flight safety applications (US Patent No.7,520,176 B1).
Grant Venerable, Jr. (BS ’32) was the first Black graduate at Caltech. He studied civil engineering and would later own and operate an eraser-manufacturing company in the Los Angeles Area.
