Editor’s note: Professor Maria Spiropulu credits the following account to Kai Svenson, a Caltech alumnus and her former SURF student who is now a graduate student in theoretical physics at UT Austin. Svenson gathered the account from the group chat of the students who built the figure. It is presented here in his words, lightly edited by Spiropulu.
On October 9, 2023, Mark came to Dabney dinner to present a challenge to Dabney House. He explained that on a recent visit to a colleague, he noticed a LEGO minifigure of the colleague standing on the desk. He thought this was extremely powerful, so he challenged Dabney to make a LEGO minifigure of himself, with a reward of $1000 donated to the house if they could pull it off. There was a chat of about 25 people all offering suggestions on whether to print their own pieces, which pieces to use, and what additional accessories to include. Then-Dabney President Tomás Wexler and alumna Jackie Lodman collected all the suggestions and ordered all the pieces. They decided on the “licensed quantum mechanic” shirt, a blackboard with the Schrödinger equation written on it, a piece of chalk, and a beverage for LEGO Mark to hold. They also got Professor Cliff Cheung’s approval of the final design.
On April 10, 2024, Mark returned to Dabney dinner, where Tomás presented the LEGO Mark to human Mark. Needless to say, he loved it: “because if you have a LEGO figure, you’re like a god.” Mark’s donation to Dabney went towards a recreational retreat at a wild-western-themed town. It was one of the best excursions the house did, and everyone was grateful to Mark for helping make it possible. Including the challenge itself, it’s another example of how much he cared about the student body, and invented opportunities to get creative and have fun.
Tomás Wexler remembers that just before this photograph was taken, Mark said: “Lemme straighten my glasses.” He was preparing to look iconic. Kai, who sat in his QFT lectures, says what three generations of students would co-sign:
“He was without a doubt the best professor I ever had. He made very intimidating subjects like QFT very accessible through his thoughtful teaching and witty humor. When time permitted, he treated us to ice cream after lecture, which to me meant that he really knew how to have fun and spread happiness.” — Kai Svenson (BS ’25, Dabney)
Mark receiving his LEGO minifigure in Dabney.
