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Distinguished Alumni

Caltech Announces 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  At the 88th annual Seminar Day on Saturday, host Sandra Tsing Loh announced this year’s recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award—Caltech’s highest honor for alumni achievement. The 2025 honorees are: Deborah D.L. Chung (BS '73, MS '73) – for pioneering work...

David Brin, PhD

BS '73For his enduring excellence in storytelling, examining how change, science, and technology affect the human condition in his New York Times-bestselling science fiction novels; for his support of revolutionary ideas in space science and engineering through NASA’s...

Louise Chow, PhD

PhD '73For her pioneering methods in electron microscopy, which led to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of split genes, one of the most important breakthroughs in molecular biology; for research that has opened doors to improved diagnosis and treatment of human...

William “Bill” Coughran, PhD

BS '75 | MS '75For his influential role as a Silicon Valley executive, mentor, and investor, helping ambitious startups grow into transformative companies; for overseeing the development and continuous improvement of iconic products at Google, including Chrome, maps,...

David Brin, PhD

BS '73For his enduring excellence in storytelling, examining how change, science, and technology affect the human...

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Louise Chow, PhD

PhD '73For her pioneering methods in electron microscopy, which led to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of split...

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Timothy M. Swager, PhD

PhD '88For his groundbreaking advancements in molecular electronics and chemical sensing, which created a new generation of devices with unparalleled levels of chemical sensitivity; for translating these discoveries to benefit humanity, such as keeping troops safe...

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Fei-Fei Li

MS '02, PhD '05 | Electrical Engineering“As a first-generation AI researcher, it’s simultaneously a privilege and a responsibility to help guide AI technology and application to benefit all humans’ lives, not just a privileged few.”When Fei-Fei Li was a Princeton...

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Bob Behnken

MS '93, PhD '97NASA astronaut Bob Behnken, PhD (MS '93, PhD '97) is honored "for his accomplished career as an astronaut on three space missions, including his history-making journey in 2020 as part of the first crew to reach Earth orbit aboard a commercially...

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Barbara Burger

PhD '87Barbara Burger, PhD (PhD '87), president of technology ventures and vice president of innovation at Chevron, receives this award "for her long and extraordinary career as a business leader at Chevron, spanning roles in science and business, marketing, and...

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Charles Elachi

MS '69, PhD '71Charles Elachi, PhD (MS '69, PhD '71), Caltech professor emeritus of electrical engineering and planetary science, is recognized "for his distinguished leadership in space exploration and planetary science as the longtime director of the Jet Propulsion...

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Laurie Leshin

MS '89, PhD '95Laurie Leshin, PhD (MS '89, PhD '95), president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), is lauded "for her barrier-breaking leadership at universities such as Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which has been recognized for both teaching and research...

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Kam-Yin Lau

BS '78, MS '78, PhD '78Kam-Yin Lau (BS '78, MS '78, PhD '81), professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, is honored for his innovations in and commercialization of laser diode and radio-over-fiber technologies that broadly...

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Sudhir Jain

MS '80, PhD '83Sudhir Kumar Jain (MS '80, PhD '83), vice chancellor of Banaras Hindu University in India, is recognized for his lifesaving impact as India's preeminent earthquake engineer, for his research, advocacy, and establishment of training programs for...

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Bette Korber

PhD '88Bette Korber (PhD '88) is a laboratory fellow in theoretical biology and biophysics at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She is lauded for pioneering achievements in virology research and computational vaccine design, which provide hope against diseases such as...

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