From Wicked to Wickedly Fun: Caltech’s Off-Campus Adventures

From Wicked to Wickedly Fun: Caltech’s Off-Campus Adventures

If you’ve recently heard students humming show tunes, hyping up hockey games, or debating the best rides at Knott’s Berry Farm, you’ve probably stumbled upon the buzz surrounding Caltech’s Off-Campus Programming Series… I recently had the chance to chat with Steven Metzmaker, Assistant Director of Residential & Student Experience, who has been orchestrating these off-campus escapades.
Rare 17th-Century Portrait Comes to Pasadena

Rare 17th-Century Portrait Comes to Pasadena

Last month, the Norton Simon Museum in Old Pas received this portrait: Diego Velázquez’s “Queen Mariana of Austria” (1652–53). On special loan from the Museo del Prado, the famed Spanish national art museum in Madrid, this painting is being displayed on the West Coast for the first time.
The Bubble

The Bubble

During my time at Caltech, I’ve noticed that I often use the term “BUBBLE,” as in phrases like “I’m in my bubble of things to do,” “Caltech Bubble,” or “problem sets bubble.” Essentially, it’s a closed, limiting space, even though deep down, I know it’s not.
What Games Will Be on the Switch 2?

What Games Will Be on the Switch 2?

In the midst of procrastinating yet another set, I am seized by my obsession with the godforsaken company Nintendo. Ever since the official announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2 (yes that is actually its name), I have not known a day of peace. I seem to be physically incapable of lasting 24 hours without thinking about this new console. With a supposed price of around $400-449, it is important to see if it will match up to the high price point.
AI at Caltech in 2025, how’s it going? Has it destroyed everything?

AI at Caltech in 2025, how’s it going? Has it destroyed everything?

We must confess that artificial intelligence has changed the planet. Once upon a time, the man was surprised by the discovery of fire, then metal, cultivation techniques. Then we arrived at more scientific realities such as during the Middle Ages when extraordinary cathedrals were built using heavy tools, pulleys, a form of engineering, right? With the Enlightenment, the greatest scientific discoveries were made such as light with Edison or more specific analyses at an anatomical level.
As Below, So Above: Colonizing the Best in Ourselves

As Below, So Above: Colonizing the Best in Ourselves

I just finished reading the new book Star Bound by Emily Carney and Bruce McCandless III (shoutout to my friend Paige Kaufman who released a podcast interview with the authors yesterday – Space Spiels, wherever you get your podcasts). In the book, the authors discuss – among other things – how we have successfully grown plants in lunar regolith brought back from the Apollo missions. This is especially relevant now, as Artemis is aimed at establishing a permanent base on the surface of the Moon.
Behind “foreign” glasses

Behind “foreign” glasses

When I sent out my university applications it was as if my entire country was against me, no one wanted me to leave the traditional circle of the native student, and yet, here I am. I believe I owe this story to many people, but especially to that little girl with dark curls who, as soon as she set foot in the United States for the first time, felt a calling, felt totally a daughter of the American dream.
Brownian Motion: A Study of Caltech's Lunch Hour Chaos.

Brownian Motion: A Study of Caltech's Lunch Hour Chaos.

Caltech is, by most accounts, a demanding place. Students work too hard; professors stress too much. Lunchtime should come as the universal comfort blanket to us all. A chance for our basement-ridden folk to remember what Vitamin D feels like; an opportunity for Caltech students to practice a social encounter; a time to sing Katy Perry to both halves of my grilled chicken sandwich. And yet, it is my frequent jaunts into the Browne dining hall that prove the most demanding of all.
Caltech and LA wildfires.

Caltech and LA wildfires.

we build rockets, not firefighters, but we are still talking about fire…right? A combination of abnormally dry conditions and powerful wind gusts have fueled Los Angeles with destructive wildfires.” This was the subtitle of the first article published by the L.A. Times, and I think you have all read about what is happening, which areas are affected, and how hard they have tried to put out the fire and contain it, but it is a machine that does not stop.