People Spotlights

Alistair Hayden is Caltech's 10,000th PhD

Alistair Hayden

After successfully defending his PhD in geology in June, Alistair Hayden became Caltech's 10,000th PhD!

Heather awarded the 2020 Paolo Farinella Prize

Heather Knutson

Prof Heather Knutson, an American astronomer working at the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences of the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded the 2020 Paolo Farinella Prize for her significant contributions in our understanding of the structure, evolution and atmospheric dynamics of giant planets.

Jennifer Jackson

Caltech recognized Jennifer Jackson with the Institute's most distinguished award for individual faculty, a named professorship. Jennifer's expertise is on the mineralogy of Earth's deep interior. She explores the multifaceted roles that dense oxides, silicates, and iron alloys play in shaping the diverse landscapes at the interface between Earth's mantle and core.

Nadia Lapusta

Caltech recognized Nadia Lapusta with the Institute's most distinguished award for individual faculty, a named professorship. Nadia combines analytical and numerical modeling with experimental findings to study friction and fracture phenomena. She explores how microscale behavior in brittle materials like rocks governs large-scale earthquake ruptures, and what can be learned about upcoming large earthquakes by integrating lab studies with information about unperceivable fault motions and microseismicity.

Jessica Watkins

Jessica Watkins, GPS Chair's Postdoctoral Scholar and California Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Fellow, has been selected for the 2017 Astronaut Class.

Jean-Philippe Avouac

Jean-Philippe Avouac has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences! Jean-Philippe will become a member of Section 15. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

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