Caltech Together: Silicon Valley December
“Scientific and Business Innovation Powered by AI”. Join Us for an In-Person Event.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
11:30 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.
Moore Foundation
1661 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
To attend, please click this link to purchase tickets through Eventbrite.
Attendance is limited to 80 people.
Price: $32 per ticket (price slightly higher due to using Eventbrite)
Ticket sales will end on December 16 at 4:00 p.m. (PT), or when sold out.
*Don’t click any checkboxes. They are Eventbrite’s marketing campaigns.
We look forward to seeing you!
Peter Tong
P.S. Additional information can be found below regarding:
– Remembering our wonderful friend, Mike Klein
– Our alumni volunteers
“Scientific and Business Innovation Powered by AI”
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how science is done and how businesses are built. We will explore the frontier where AI becomes both scientists and entrepreneurs—accelerating discovery, enabling new kinds of genius, and spawning a new generation of science-driven startups. We will examine how AI systems are proposing experiments, writing code, and generating hypotheses; how researchers are leveraging these tools in daily work; and where the next breakthroughs in AI architecture, agents, and scientific entrepreneurship may emerge. Join us for an inside look at the fusion of intelligence, innovation, and imagination that defines this new era.
About the Moderator and Panelists
Moderator, Richard Starson
Entrepreneur and scientist focused on fusion energy, AI, and space exploration, Richard earned his Ph.D. in astrophysics at Caltech under Chris Hirata. He also did research at Harvard and the Space Telescope Science Institute. After Caltech, Richard founded Escape Dynamics, which pioneered microwave-powered space launch and wireless energy transfer, and later co-founded Passio, an AI platform powering next-gen healthcare and fitness applications. Today, he leads a new deep tech venture at the intersection of propulsion and AI.
Panelists
Konstantin Batygin
Professor of Planetary Science at Caltech, Konstantin is known for groundbreaking work on planetary dynamics, formation, and evolution—spanning the solar system and exoplanets alike. His research combines mathematical modeling and physical insight to understand how planets form and move through chaotic systems. In 2020, Konstantin co-founded Lucinetic, an AI company specializing in tools for Geographic Information Systems, which concluded with an IP sale earlier this year. In his free time, he moonlights as a singer and guitarist for the rock band The Seventh Season.
Howard Zhou
Senior Director of Engineering at Google DeepMind, Howard develops AI systems at the cutting edge of computer vision, graphics, and machine learning. With a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech and a Caltech B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science, his work bridges computation and perception, from large-scale visual intelligence systems to frontier LLMs like Gemini, helping shape the next generation of intelligent machines. Howard brings a unique perspective on the future of AI, having participated in the evolution of the field for over a decade.
Join Us to Remember our Wonderful Friend, Mike Klein
Our wonderful friend, Mike Klein, has passed away.
I have known Mike for more than 2 decades. He was always very pleasant, calm and collected, with a gentle smile on his face. Mike managed our Zoom meeting and our finance. You can always depend on him. Through the years whenever issues came up in running these Caltech events, he would always be there, providing thoughtful and helpful approaches to resolve them.
We will miss Mike. He will always be in my heart. We wish his family all the best in this moment of grieving.
To attend, please click this link to purchase tickets through Eventbrite.
Our Alumni Volunteers
The following Alumni work together to serve you: Avni Gandhi, Dave Adler, Jane Frommer, Susan Huynh, and Peter Tong.