Caltech recognizes five of its graduates who highlight the breadth of fields in which the institute’s alumni have gone on to become leaders—ranging from astronomy and physics to sustainable energy and biochemistry.
First presented in 1966, the awards recognize a particular achievement of noteworthy value, a series of such achievements, or a career of noteworthy accomplishment.
Fred A. Blum
(MS ’64, PhD ’68, Physics)
For his entrepreneurial leadership in the development and commercialization of high-performance GaAs and GaN semiconductor electronic and optical devices with revolutionary applications in communications and lighting.
Emily A. Carter
(PhD ’87, Chemistry)
For her visionary leadership in sustainable energy and engagement with the broader scientific community and for her development of powerful theoretical methods based on quantum mechanics that have greatly influenced chemistry and engineering.
William Dally
(PhD ’86, Computer Science)
For his significant contributions to the architecture of interconnection networks. He developed much of the technology found in modern interconnection networks including wormhole routing, virtual-channel flow control, global adaptive routing, modern network topology, deadlock analysis, performance analysis, fault-tolerance methods, and equalized high-speed signaling.
Charles M. Rice III
(PhD ’81, Biochemistry)
For developing a treatment for patients chronically infected with the Hepatitis C virus that is highly effective (99% cure rate) and which has no significant side effects. For this achievement, Charles Rice, along with Ralf Bartenschlager and Michael J. Sofia, received the highly prestigious Lasker Award in Clinical Medicine in 2016.
Anneila I. Sargent
(MS ’67, PhD ’77, Astronomy)
For her contributions to our understanding of how stars and planetary systems form and evolve, her dedication to enhancing observatory capabilities for the scientific community, and her national and international leadership in her field.
