Decade of Discovery

As December winds down, we mark not just the end of another year of discovery at Caltech but the conclusion of a decade of remarkable accomplishments and research breakthroughs. During this decade, as in previous decades, Caltech scientists and engineers reinvented the landscape of scientific endeavor: from the first detection of gravitational waves and the discovery of evidence for a ninth planet in the solar system; to bold missions to explore and understand the solar system; to the development of new methods to see inside the body and the brain and understand the universe around us; to the invention of devices to improve human health, some taking inspiration from nature; to the initiation of a transformative new effort to support research into the most pressing challenges in environmental sustainability. Caltech faculty, alumni, and former postdoctoral scholars were also recognized around the world for work that has shaped their respective fields, with 10 new Nobelists added to Caltech's ranks: Robert G. Edwards (postdoc '57-'58), 2010, Physiology or Medicine; Sir John B. Gurdon (postdoc '60), 2012, Physiology or Medicine; Martin Karplus (PhD '54), 2013, Chemistry; Eric Betzig (BS '83), 2014, Chemistry; Arthur B. McDonald (PhD '70), 2015, Physics; Michael Rosbash (BS '65) and Jeffrey C. Hall (postdoc '72), 2017, Physiology or Medicine; Barry Barish and Kip Thorne (BS '62), 2017, Physics; and Frances Arnold , 2018, Chemistry.