Research
Recent Research News
Research Centers and Institutes
The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM)
The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) recently moved its home to the Caltech campus, where it hosts in-depth collaborations to solve long-standing math problems.
AWS Center for Quantum Computing
In partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Caltech pioneers quantum computing technologies in the AWS Center for Quantum Computing.
Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech
Scientists in the Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech collaborate to deepen understanding of how the brain works.
Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI)
For two decades, Caltech's Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI) has facilitated groundbreaking research in nanoscale photonics, materials science, and biotechnology.
Merkin Institute for Translational Research
The Merkin Institute for Translational Research helps Caltech scientists transform laboratory breakthroughs into advances in human health.
Resnick Sustainability Institute (RSI)
Caltech's Resnick Sustainability Institute (RSI) addresses the challenges of climate change and explores new opportunities for sustainability.
Off-Site Observatories and Research Facilities
W. M. Keck Observatory
From Hawai'i's Maunakea, astronomers around the world use W. M. Keck Observatory to observe the universe with unprecedented power and precision. The twin Keck Observatory telescopes are the world's most scientifically productive optical and infrared telescopes. Each telescope weighs 300 tons and operates with nanometer precision. The telescopes' primary mirrors are 10 meters in diameter and are each composed of 36 hexagonal segments that work in concert as a single piece of reflective glass.
Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory
Founded in 1929 and located near the entrance of Newport Bay, the Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory is one of the oldest such labs on the U.S. West Coast. The lab, one of Caltech's off-site facilities, has long been the site of important marine science discoveries. A current pilot project funded by Caltech's Resnick Sustainability Institute, led by lab director Victoria J. Orphan, uses Kerckhoff's facilities and expertise to study how microbes in seagrasses affect carbon stored by the ocean.
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)
LIGO is a national facility for gravitational-wave research that provides opportunities for the broader scientific community to participate in detector development, observation, and data analysis. Consisting of two widely-separated interferometers operated in unison (one in Washington and one in Louisiana), LIGO was designed to open the field of gravitational-wave astrophysics through the direct detection of gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. LIGO measures minute ripples in space-time caused by cataclysmic cosmic events such as colliding neutron stars or black holes, or by supernovae.
Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO)
OVRO is one of the largest university-operated radio observatories in the world. It is dedicated to research in radio astronomy and astrophysics, the training of the next generation of radio astronomers, and the development of cutting-edge radio instrumentation. Known by locals as the "Big Ears," OVRO is located near Bishop, California, approximately 250 miles north of Los Angeles on the east side of the Sierra Nevada.
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory, located atop Palomar Mountain in north San Diego County, California, is a center of astronomical research owned and operated by Caltech. The Observatory is home to three active research telescopes: the 200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope, the 48-inch (1.2-meter) Samuel Oschin Telescope, and the 60-inch (1.5-meter) telescope.
Research at Palomar Observatory is pursued by a broad community of astronomers from Caltech and other domestic and international partner institutions. The Observatory operates every clear night and is an iconic facility for scientific advancement, instrument development, and student training.
Southern California Seismic Network
SCSN, a partnership of Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survey, has more than 400 seismic stations in Southern California, and imports over 150 stations from 14 other networks, creating one of the densest seismic networks in the world. It provides the public with information about recent earthquakes in the area. In addition, Caltech maintains the Southern California Earthquake Data Center (SCEDC), the data archive of the SCSN.
- Professor of Planetary Science; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair and Director, Keck Institute for Space Studies
Bethany Ehlmann
Space exploration, in many ways, brings out the best in us, as a society, where we band together to do something that's hard, that's challenging, and that's really done for the purposes of knowledge."
- Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering; Investigator, Heritage Medical Research Institute; Ronald and JoAnne Willens Scholar
Wei Gao
My interest in biomedical engineering started when I realized that people I loved passed away because of the lack of technologies to diagnose and treat different types of diseases. By analyzing human sweat using a wearable sensor, we could collect large sets of information that could be used for health monitoring and disease diagnosis. And, very importantly, the information could give us early warnings for preventative care."
- Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry; William H. Hurt Scholar
Karthish Manthiram
In our group, we have chemical engineers, chemists, mechanical engineers, and materials scientists all coming together to do something big. We're going after really, really difficult problems and uncovering Mother Nature's secrets."
- Professor of English and Dean of Undergraduate Students
Jennifer Jahner
COVID brought home just how deeply our sense of the world is shaped by faith in the reliability of our forecasting models. The experience had me reflecting on the period I research and asking, What did a ‘forecast’ look like in an era before probability calculus and statistics? I realized that many of the core questions we struggle with today are present in these much earlier periods of history but reveal themselves in different ways—some familiar, some radically distinct.”
- Lois and Victor Troendle Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair and Director of the Richard N. Merkin Institute for Translational Research
Viviana Gradinaru (BS '05)
Caltech germinates entirely new fields of sciences, through our faculty but also through our students and postdocs in their post-Caltech careers. Through the Merkin Institute, we have a vehicle to channel such discoveries into novel ways to understand and improve the human experience."
- George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science
Shri Kulkarni
The ideal scientist is supposed to ask questions and seek answers—I've never been that. I really like to build instruments, or as I sometimes call them, toys, and play with them to discover the universe. I think it's a very different approach to science, which is, in some sense, based on a combination of engineering and curiosity rather than a more theoretical approach."