[April 8] ASCIT 2025 Spring Elections: Candidate Statements

[March 4] Caltech Faces Uncertainty Pending Federal Funding Cuts

[March 4] Caltech Joins Lawsuit Suing NIH Over Funding Cuts

[March 4] Caltech Wildlife: Acorn Woodpeckers

[March 4] Democritus: The Atomic Visionary Whispering Through Caltech’s Labs

[March 4] Frank Capra: Caltech’s Six-time Oscar Winning Filmmaker

[March 4] Jack Parsons: The Paradoxical Figure Who Revolutionized Rocketry

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ASCIT 2025 Spring Elections: Candidate Statements

Over the last month, a series of federal funding cuts to scientific research has created disruptions and uncertainty for various agencies and institutions. To learn more about how the federal funding cuts may impact the Institute’s research, the Tech reached out to faculty members who described the uncertainty at this time.

Caltech joined several other leading American research universities in a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Filed on February 10, the lawsuit challenges what it describes as “a flagrantly unlawful action… that, if allowed to stand, will devastate medical research at America’s universities.”

Woodpeckers are perhaps the most overlooked yet ever-present wildlife species on campus. Like the ubiquitous fox squirrels (a topic for another day), they are a daily sight if you know where to look.

If Democritus were alive today, he’d fit right in at Caltech—probably wandering around campus, laughing at his own jokes, and asking if he could borrow a supercomputer “just to check something.”

As the world celebrated the 97th Academy Awards this past Sunday, March 2nd, it is only fitting that we honor Caltech’s most significant contribution to the motion picture industry: six-time Oscar-winning director and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frank Capra.

You’ve probably heard a joke about JPL standing for Jack Parsons Laboratory. Or at least you’ve heard that Jack Parsons was one of the founders of JPL and that a crater on the moon’s dark side is named after him. But have you ever delved into the subtext, personality, habits, and life of Jack Parsons?

I have discovered that, deep down, each of us secretly cultivates the desire to be elsewhere. It’s as if, despite all the sacrifices made to get to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, we suddenly discover that complete satisfaction is an illusion.

The fires examined in the paper each started in association with high-voltage powerlines, and were consistent with model predictions—particularly the very recent Altadena fire.