Ten Stories You Loved in 2022
Photo illustration: Lance Hayashida
This year, Caltech magazine covered the dazzling new images from James Webb Space Telescope, a new Nobel-winning alumnus, the beauty of writing in math, and much more. Here are our most popular features from 2022.
Is Space Pixelated? The Search for Quantum Gravity
“The idea that you might be able to look for observable features of quantum gravity is very far from the mainstream. But we’ll be lost in the desert if we don’t start focusing on ways to link quantum gravity with the natural world that we live in. Having observational signatures to think about tethers us theorists together and helps us make progress on new kinds of questions.”
Writing in the Language of Math
From chalk to software code, mathematicians and scientists use a variety of methods to express equations and formulas, and they have different ideas about the meaning behind their numerical prose.
A Climate Conundrum: Why Didn’t Atmospheric CO2 Fall During the Pandemic?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, carbon dioxide increased at the same rate in the atmosphere despite lower emissions, say researchers from campus and JPL; plus, what is good for ozone reduction is bad for methane removal.
How these ancient animals are helping unlock secrets of the body and planet.
Why Is It So Hard to Beat Lithium-Ion Batteries?
Lithium-ion batteries became the gold standard because of their ability to store a large quantity of energy and recharge many times with minimal degradation. However, they carry a few pronounced downsides.
The Traditions That Make Caltech
The annual events that define the Caltech experience, such as Ditch Day, both create and reflect the Institute’s culture of innovation and creativity.
Stephan’s Quintet Expert Gives a Guided Tour of Stunning JWST Image
In July, NASA released a batch of long-awaited, jaw-dropping images from its newest and most powerful space observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In unprecedented detail, pictures revealed faraway wonders such as the Carina Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula, and Stephan's Quintet—a collection of five dazzling galaxies, some of which are actively colliding with each other. In this video, Philip Appleton, a staff scientist at Caltech's IPAC astronomy center, walks us through the new image of the quintet.
Alum to Alum: A Conversation with Nobel Prize Winner Ardem Patapoutian
Patapoutian, who is a professor in the department of neuroscience at Scripps Research, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on how cells sense touch and pressure. In this conversation with Lori Dajose (BS ’15), Patapoutian discusses his upbringing in Lebanon, his support for immigrants in science, and how his time at Caltech spent living in a building once inhabited by famous biologists influenced the trajectory of his life and career.
Getting Personal with Caltech’s Newest Alumni
New Caltech alumni discuss how their lives have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what was on their minds as they approached Caltech’s first in-person commencement in three years.
Math for the Masses: Inside the Mind of Po-Shen Loh
Po-Shen Loh (BS ’04) thrives on interacting with people. Now he has created an app to keep them apart during a pandemic.