#SoCaltech: Newton Nguyen

Newton Nguyen. Photo: Caltech/Lance Hayashida

Newton Nguyen (MS ’19) is a fifth-year graduate student in environmental science and engineering. Through his research with Christian Frankenberg, a professor of environmental science and engineering and JPL research scientist, he aims to develop a new greenhouse gas observation network to monitor carbon emissions. Nguyen, who lost his eyesight at age 12 due to a degenerative vision condition, co-founded the Caltech Disability Coalition with Krystal Vasquez, a graduate student in chemistry. In his spare time, Nguyen runs marathons and competes in triathlons. He helped found the Caltech Triathlon Club and serves as its president.

“I went to geophysics, then to climate science and math. It’s a lot of visual data, but I generate the plots myself with my own code. I can listen to my computer read the code aloud and understand what’s being typed out. There are three steps I use to understand the data. Number one is developing the code to actually generate the figures to look through the data. The second is looking through different statistical measures to understand what the data looks like, but that only gives you a coarse picture of what’s going on. Third, I sit down with my adviser, collaborators, or even just other friends at Caltech and discuss the details in the figures. I learn insights that I didn’t catch when they described the data to me. It took a year or two to figure it out, but it ended up working.

“In many ways, having to do all these workarounds for conventional pathways can help you out because you have to think outside the box. I can’t take anything for granted. I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues at Caltech and my running guides, friends to whom I am literally tethered when I run. They tell me where to go, look out for obstacles, and give me feedback on my technique and pacing. It’s a team effort, and when we cross the finish line, we do it together.”

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.