Superconductivity is a quantum physical state in which a metal is able to conduct electricity perfectly without any resistance. In its most familiar application, it enables powerful magnets in MRI machines to create the magnetic fields that allow doctors to see inside our bodies. Thus far, materials can only achieve superconductivity at extremely low temperatures, […]

A team of astronomers has stumbled upon a humungous spiral galaxy, about five times more massive than our Milky Way galaxy and covering an area two times as big, making it among the largest known galaxies. The most surprising trait of the galaxy, however, is not its colossal size but the fact it existed in […]

On March 8, Caltech released its final round of undergraduate admissions decisions, offering admission to a total of 427 exceptional students.Hailing from 41 U.S. states and territories and 27 countries around the globe, the admitted students embody academic excellence, a shared dedication to scientific inquiry, and diverse lived experiences.Among them are numerous winners of the […]

Gabrielle (Gabbie) Chang, a fourth-year undergraduate computer science major from Hinsdale, Illinois, has been awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, a grant that offers graduating undergrads a year of independent study outside of the United States. During her project, Chang will spend time researching the computational topology of knitted structures in Japan, volunteering on sheep […]

Arden L. Albee, professor of geology and planetary science, emeritus, and chief scientist at JPL, passed away March 19, 2025. He was 96. Albee conducted petrological investigations in the United States and Greenland, and eventually of material from the Moon and Mars.Albee was born and raised in Michigan, the son of two school teachers. He […]

Over the last 150 years, humans have emitted over 2,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, increasing the CO2 concentration by 50 percent from pre-Industrial Revolution levels.While some of that carbon remains in the atmosphere or is absorbed by the oceans, about one-third goes back into the land, "eaten" by plants that consume […]

Increasing energy demands and problems associated with burning fossil fuels have heightened interest in more sustainable energy sources, such as sunlight. But there are still areas where carbon-based fuel remains the standard, such as in the aviation industry. To address this need, scientists have been working to devise a way to use sunlight to generate […]

In the effort to build superconducting quantum computers, researchers around the world are working to develop electrical circuits that operate in the microwave domain using individual particles of microwave radiation, or microwave photons, as qubits—the basic building blocks of quantum computing. These microwave qubits are a leading approach to building quantum computers due to their […]

In the wake of the Eaton fire, Caltech researchers working with community members, business owners, and schools in Altadena and Pasadena have quickly deployed a network of particulate air quality sensors on rooftops in and around the burned areas of Altadena. The network, dubbed PHOENIX (Post-fire airborne Hazard Observation Environmental Network for Integrated Xposure-monitoring), aims […]

Walter Massey—inspiring leader, physicist, chair of the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization, president emeritus of Morehouse College and of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, former director of the National Science Foundation, and former director of Argonne National Laboratory—will deliver the keynote address at Caltech's 131st Annual Commencement Ceremony on June 13, 2025."Massey's extraordinary […]