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Vibrations
The Newsletter for the EAS Community
Image: Flow over an NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) 0012 airfoil behind a cylinder. Credit: Jane Bae.
Selected Upcoming Events
Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Charge Up! Entrepreneurship Series: Pitching Your Story
Location: Online
Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Womxn in EAS Workshop: The Art of Research Presentations, with Robyn Javier (lunch provided)
Location: Jorgensen 109 (RSVP using the link above)
Wednesday, May 24, 2023, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Watson Lecture: Artificial Intelligence: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, featuring Professor Yaser Abu-Mostafa (PhD '83)
Location: Beckman Auditorium and Online
Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Womxn in EAS Faculty Coffee Hour w/ Professor Hillary Mushkin
Location: Watson Courtyard (RSVP using the link above)
Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
LATTICE Lunar Transportation Live Demonstration and Poster Session
Location: Beckman Mall
Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Materials Science Research Lecture: "Quantum Sensing of Quantum Materials" - Chunhui Du, Assistant Professor, Physics, UC San Diego
Location: Noyes 147 (J. Holmes Sturdivant Lecture Hall)
Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 5:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Behind the Book: Caltech Magazine Edition Panel Discussion, "From Scientist to CEO" - A Fireside Chat with Professor Jess Adkins
Location: Online (Register using the link above)
Friday, June 2, 2023, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
GALCIT Colloquium: "Toward real-time simulation of cardiorespiratory flows" - Mahdi Esmaily Moghadam, Assistant Professor, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University
Location: Guggenheim 133 (Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall)
Spotlight On Our People
Yiyi Cai
Undergraduate Student, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
I am a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Electrical Engineering and minoring in Computer Science. I am interested in the intersection of physics, EE, and CS, particularly the field of quantum computing and information theory. I have conducted research on training quantum circuits in simulating physics jets features with Professor Maria Spiropulu, and I am currently starting my project on error cancellation in analog quantum simulators with Professor John Preskill. I am also a missions operations and ground data science intern at the NASA Lunar Trailblazer mission led by Professor Bethany Ehlmann, which aims to detect water on the moon. Outside of academics, I am an admissions ambassador for the office of undergraduate admissions, a member of the Venerable house’s social team, and I figure skate in my free time.
Zachary Ahmad
Graduate Student, Applied Physics and Materials Science
I am a G1 pursuing a PhD in Materials Science in Katherine Faber’s lab. In my current project, a collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I am excited to develop new methods of additive manufacturing via reaction bonding of dense, high-temperature materials for space exploration. Pursuing a PhD at Caltech offers a unique environment for me to support diversity and equity in the next generation of scientists and engineers. As a first-generation student from a rural background, it is important for me to use the many resources available at Caltech to advocate for and reach out to underrepresented communities in STEM fields. With these goals in mind, I serve on the Board of Directors for the GSC; the EAS Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; PRISM's Leadership Team, and Caltech's Health Committee. When not pursuing these efforts, I enjoy spending time with friends and playing guitar and piano.
We'd like to feature you!
FSRI: Seeking Summer Research Mentors
The First-Year Success Research Institute (FSRI) seeks mentors for Summer 2023. FSRI is designed to introduce incoming historically excluded and/or marginalized first-year students to Caltech's research, curriculum, academic rigor, and student support services. Mentors should have a project available for students and dedicate 2+ hours/week to in-person lab work and meetings with students. Dates of research: July 31 - September 8. View the Interest Application to learn more about the program details and timeline. Deadline: Open until filled with a priority deadline of end of June.
EAS News Highlights
- Professor Ravichandran Receives 2023 ASME Timoshenko Medal
- Nader Engheta (MS '79, PhD '82) Named a 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awardee
- A Team of Caltech Undergraduates Win 3rd Place AIAA Best Paper Award
- Kaila Coimbra Named Knight-Hennessy Scholar
- Watson Lecture on May 24: Yaser Abu-Mostafa Will Discuss the Promise and Perils of Artificial Intelligence
Professor Adam Wierman Receives 2023 IEEE INFOCOM Test of Time Paper Award
From Caltech Magazine: These Student Projects Could Help Build a Moon Base
In Other News
Calls for Nomination & Funding Opportunities
Caltech’s Office of Foundation Relations maintains an online database and email subscription service of primarily non-federal funding opportunities as a resource for the Caltech community. Opportunities include calls for proposals released by private foundations, public charities, associations, corporations, internal Caltech opportunities and federal limited opportunities.
Merkin Institute Grants
Merkin Innovation Seed Grants
These awards provide early support for translational projects, emphasizing partnerships between Caltech labs and clinicians, who will typically be from outside Caltech. Projects developed from the Bob Grubbs Medical Innovation Symposia are encouraged, but projects and clinical partnerships developed in other ways are equally welcome. Funding amount: up to $100k. Submission deadline: Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
Merkin Spark Grants
The project is to be conceived and driven by graduate student applicant(s). It should not be an immediate or obvious extension of ongoing or proposed research in the host lab or labs. Novel applications of methods and variations across labs are encouraged. The project should be designed to generate go/no-go data for an innovative direction or novel technology that will ultimately translate to improve human health. These projects can be at any stage on the path toward translation, as long as the purpose and vision for translation is clearly stated. Collaboration between students in different labs to create project proposals is encouraged, but not required. Funding amount: $10k. Submission deadline: Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
2023 Senior Thesis Prize: Call for Nominations
This prize recognizes senior theses that exemplify research and the effective use of the scholarly record and has been awarded each year since its founding in 2010. Prize winners receive acknowledgment of their prize on their official transcript. The citation is accompanied by a $1200 honorarium and appears in the Commencement program. Read more about the prize and evaluation criteria.
Nominate your students’ theses for consideration for the prize by filling out the Faculty Nomination Form. Nominations are accepted through Wednesday, June 7, 2023
COVID Updates: Visit together.caltech.edu for the latest communications from the Institute.
- As of Monday, April 17, 2023, masking is recommended, but no longer required in instructional spaces. This change does not alter other health and safety requirements related to the use of masks in research settings as part of traditional laboratory protocols, or public health requirements for masking as part of an individual’s isolation period. Please continue to respect others’ preferences for mask use.
Effective Friday, March 17, the last day of winter term, the Institute will close its Caltech-sponsored surveillance testing program, and suspend the current twice-weekly testing requirement for students and employees. Read the full update.
- Voluntary surveillance testing is available to all (more info).
- Masks at no charge are available to persons with a Caltech ID at the Bookstore.
Division of Engineering and Applied Science
