Caltech in 2024: A Year of Milestones, Achievements, and New Frontiers

2024 has been one of the most important years for Caltech, which continues to build on its legacy of scientific discovery, innovation, and academic excellence. Although we are coming to the end of this year, we beavers are sure to make new discoveries as we step into 2025. In 1920 Throop university changed its name and marked a new era as the California Institute of Technology name. 2024 brings new milestones, anniversaries, and achievements that further highlight the Institute’s incredible contributions to science and technology. From groundbreaking research to prestigious awards, including new Nobel Prizes and institutional anniversaries, Caltech remains at the forefront of the global scientific community. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key events and achievements that define Caltech in 2024.

Milestones in Particle Physics

It has been 60 years since the quark model was introduced by Caltech physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1964. The theory of Gell-Mann — that protons and neutrons are made up of even smaller particles, a type known as quarks — revolutionized particle physics. Although there are no real celebration events in the program (they are mainly family activities or usual meetings), a lot of them were done on the 50th anniversary. You can read the article that was published on Caltech website 10 years ago: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/50-years-quarks-43351.

Thanks to their theory, quarks have been shown to be physical particles with finite masses. The up quark has been found to have about half the mass of the down, while the strange quark is some 50 times more massive — a sure sign that it represented a second generation of quarks, just as muons had turned out to be second-generation electrons. In 1974 (so 50 years ago!) the other second-generation quark turned up — the “charm” quark — followed three years later by the third-generation “bottom” quark. It then took nearly two decades to find its partner, the “top” quark — which, as far as we know, completes the quark family tree.

Gell-Mann was named the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Theoretical Physics in 1967 — a fitting irony that the man who showed that fractional electric charges are necessary holds the chair named for the man who showed that electric charge is indivisible.

Keck Observatory: 31 Years of Astronomical Discovery

In 2024, we celebrate 31 years since the Keck Observatory first opened its telescopes to the skies in 1993. Nestled high on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, it has helped in some major astronomical discoveries. Using Keck Observatory’s second generation Near-Infrared Camera (NIRC2) paired with the Keck II telescope adaptive optics system, they found the gas giant has a slightly higher temperature and is less cloudy than the HR 8799 planets — the very first directly imaged exoplanetary system discovered in 2008 by two Mauna Kea Observatories, the Keck Observatory and Gemini Observatory. This world’s atmosphere also hints at water and carbon monoxide. Having been a place that links science, technology, and art, the Exoplanet Imaginarium has been assigned a dream one could entertain: to picture ourselves on board a flying spacecraft, passing by a strange world, or standing on the surface of an alien moon and looking at a giant planet rising above the horizon.

The collaboration between Keck Observatory and award-winning exoplanet artist Adam Maramenko targeted a virtual “trip” to 12 different exoplanets throughout 2018. Every month, Keck and Mamamenko created an artistic rendering of a scene of an exoplanet based on available scientific data combined with calculations from Keck Observatory Astronomer Carlos Alvarez. Beginning this special series with the very first exoplanet that Keck Observatory discovered, Gliese 876b is a gas giant that’s two times more massive than Jupiter, seen here from a hypothetical moon. While there was no scientific evidence of moons at this time, this planet most likely has moons based on the evidence from the gas giants we see in our own solar system. Gliese 876b is far from lonely; it’s one of four known planets orbiting one of the nearest stars to the Sun - a red dwarf a mere 15 light years away. This extrasolar system is really compact, with all four planets squeezed into a space much smaller than Mercury’s orbit around the Sun. As such, in the distance, we see another gas giant planet Gliese 876c is in a waning crescent.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2024

Among the most exciting announcements this year, 2024 is marked by the granting of the Nobel Prize in Physics to former Caltech scientist John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their groundbreaking work related to artificial intelligence. Their breakthrough findings, such as neural networks and machine learning, have gone a long way toward developing AI technologies with influences ranging from physics to materials science. The prize highlights his deep contributions but also underscores Caltech’s enduring legacy in fostering interdisciplinary innovation. The main wonder right now is: could AI be considered a Nobel prize in physics? What is the boundary between AI and actual human development and rational thoughts? Hopfield’s transition from physics at Princeton and Bell Labs to Caltech’s departments of chemistry and biology in 1980 marked an important moment in his career. At Caltech, Hopfield found fertile ground as he merged his physics with neurobiology, catalyzing the development of artificial neural networks. This innovative framework laid the bedrock for today’s sophisticated AI systems, such as ChatGPT, showing the deep reach of early work.

His model was inspired by nuances from the human brain’s architecture, where it replicated neuronal connections in which varying strengths could model learning or memory processes. Borrowing ideas developed within the physics of spin glass, Hopfield introduced a very new perspective of thinking of brainlike memory storage; in so doing, Hopfield brought together physics and cognitive science in a fashion that few could have possibly envisioned. More importantly, his interdisciplinary spirit best exemplifies Caltech’s ethos of crossing traditional boundaries. His development of the course “The Physics of Computation,” with Richard Feynman and Carver Mead, is an excellent representation of this spirit; this predated the CNS program at Caltech. As Hopfield himself said, “the excitement of being at an interface between scientific fields is a really general point” and his colleagues concurred. Caltech’s Bren Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, Peter Dervan, recalls, “there was a feel to Hopfield’s tenure here at Caltech as having encouraged an atmosphere of original thinking.” This environment afforded Hopfield the freedom to expand the limits of possibility in several scientific landscapes into lands without bounds.

Beyond the accolades, which include prestigious awards like the Boltzmann Medal and the Albert Einstein Award, Hopfield’s contributions remind us of the transformative power of curiosity-led science. His work exemplifies the synthesis of diverse scientific domains and raises important questions about the ethical coexistence of humanity with advanced AI technologies.

Linus Pauling: A Legacy of Two Nobels

As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Linus Pauling’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, it’s a fitting time to reflect on how his incredible work and devotion to peace continue to foster inspiration and innovation at Caltech. Pauling remains a towering figure as the only person to have been granted two unshared Nobel Prizes—one for Chemistry in 1954 and one for Peace in 1962—as well as having been an exemplary role model of interdisciplinary influence and social responsibility.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Pauling, showed a deep insight into the nature of the chemical bond and radically changed the cognitions about molecular structure. In fact, his works gave laid the foundation for many scientific achievements — much of modern chemistry and molecular biology rests just on his works. Caltech’s researchers continue to push forward the bounds of science in search of new knowledge, materials, and innovative technologies that will advance medicine, following in his path to this day.

Beyond his scientific contributions, Pauling’s strong support of peace resonates with Caltech’s commitment to ethical responsibility. His Nobel Peace Prize was in recognition of his work regarding an attempt to stop nuclear weapons testing, emphasizing the critical position of the scientist vis-à-vis issues in our society. Pauling personified the dictum that a scientist should be responsible for using their knowledge to improve the human condition, and his philosophy instills in Caltech students and faculty a sense of commitment to the world’s problems, which range from climate change to public health.

Caltech’s Fight Against Climate Change

One of the main topics nowadays is climate change, and Caltech’s response lies in the formation of the Resnick Sustainability Center (RSC). The RSC is continuing proof of Caltech’s commitment to pioneering research in tandem with sustainable innovation. This facility serves as a beacon for the most advanced environmental science and as a collaborative hub aimed at solving some of the most pressing ecological challenges of our times. From the moment one approaches the Resnick Sustainability Center, the green architecture of the building is striking. It was designed with sustainability in mind and includes state-of-the-art energy-efficient technologies with eco-friendly materials inside, showing just how committed Caltech is to the goal of cutting its carbon footprint. The facility supports scientific missions while serving as a physical inspiration for what sustainable design can be.

“It’s facilities like these, with brilliant staff who keep them running and who collaborate closely with faculty and students and postdocs, that really makes breakthrough research at Caltech much more possible than it would otherwise be,” Jonas Peters Bren Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute at the California Institute of Technology, said in a press release on October 10.

Interdisciplinary collaboration, however, lies at the core of the center’s mission. Lacing together the capabilities of experts in chemistry, engineering, biology, and earth sciences, the center works to construct solutions to global sustainability challenges. Various labs and collaborative facilities housed in the building create dynamic interactions among researchers for breakthrough discoveries in renewable energy, climate science, water conservation, and more.

Apart from research, the RSC also serves as a key educational resource. It offers a range of programs and workshops involving students, faculty members, and the greater community in sustainability practices that promote environmental stewardship. Through interactive exhibits and events to which the community is welcomed, it exposes the public to science-based solutions for environmental issues and inspires a new generation of eco-sensitive leaders. Its outputs of research are supposed to influence policy and industry practice across the globe, promoting sustainable development at the international level.