News

03-15-10

Joel Tropp, Assistant Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics, has been awarded the sixth Vasil A. Popov Prize. The Popov Prize recognizes distinguished research accomplishments in Approximation Theory and related areas of mathematics. It is awarded every third year and is restricted to young mathematicians removed less than 6 years from their doctoral degree.

Tags: honors CMS Joel Tropp

02-23-10

Congratulations to Joel Tropp, Assistant Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics, for being a recipient of the 2010 Sloan Research Fellowship. The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded yearly to 118 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.

Tags: honors CMS Joel Tropp Sloan Research Fellowship

02-23-10

Andreas Krause, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, has been awarded the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for his proposal "Coping with the Data Deluge -- Algorithms, Human Aspects and Applications" which investigates principled, scalable methods for extracting the most useful information from massive data sets. The CAREER program is NSF's most prestigious awards for junior faculty members. The level and 5-year duration of the awards are designed to enable awardees to develop careers as outstanding teacher-scholars.

Tags: honors CMS Andreas Krause NSF CAREER

01-05-10

Jerrold Marsden, Carl F Braun Professor of Engineering, Control and Dynamical Systems, and Applied and Computational Mathematics, has been selected to receive the 2010 Thomas K. Caughey Dynamics Award. The Caughey Award is conferred in recognition of an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of nonlinear dynamics through practice, research, teaching, and/or outstanding leadership. Congratulations Professor Marsden!

Tags: honors CMS Jerrold Marsden

11-30-09

John Dabiri, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Bioengineering, Beverley McKeon, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics, and Joel Tropp, Assistant Professor of Applied and  Computational Mathematics, will be recieving the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) at a special White House ceremony in January 2010. 

Tags: honors GALCIT John Dabiri CMS Beverley McKeon Joel Tropp PECASE

10-29-09

Congratulations to Tracey Ho, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Andrew D. Straw, Postdoctoral Scholar in Bioengineering for being awarded 2010 Young Investigator Research Program grants by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. They are among only 38 scientists and engineers who will be awarded a total of $14.6 million in grants. [Air Force Office of Scientific Research Article]

Tags: EE honors CMS Tracey Ho Andrew Straw postdocs

07-10-09

In a special White House ceremony, President Obama will be presenting three EAS faculty: John Dabiri, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Bioengineering, Beverley McKeon, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics, and Joel Tropp, Assistant Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics, with the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). "These extraordinarily gifted young scientists and engineers represent the best in our country," President Obama said. Dabiri,describes the idea behind his PECASE-winning research as "giving underwater vehicles the enhanced performance of fish (e.g. efficiency, stealth, and maneuverablity) without mimicking the shape and swimming motions of fish. Instead, we replicate the vortex dynamics in the wakes of swimming fish." His "bio-inspired systems" were used by Lydia Ruiz (PhD '09 Mechanical Engineering), to demonstrateincreases in vehicle propulsive efficiency of over 50 percent.

McKeon is receiving the PECASE for her research on fundamental questions in complex turbulent boundary layers. McKeon states that "the ultimate goal is to incorporate recent advances in the understanding of flow physics in order to develop low order models of flow over surfaces for Air Force applications". Tropp's PECASE-winning research "focuses on developing new algorithms for solving inverse problems, a basic challenge that arises throughout the mathematical sciences. Inverse problems also appear in medical imaging, in communication systems, in statistical data analysis, and a host of other areas." He uses tools from modern applied mathematics, such as optimization techniques and randomized algorithms to collect partial information about an object of interest, and incorporate additional background knowledge to develop a complete picture of the object.

Other researchers receiving the PECASE award this year are Joshua K. Willis from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the following Caltech Alumni Elizabeth Boon, (PhD '03 CCE), Markus J. Buehler, (Post doc in CCE) Michael J. Hochberg, (Ph.D. '06 EAS - Applied Physics), Justin K. Romberg, (Post doc in EAS - Applied and Computational Mathematics), Cecilia R. Aragon, (B.S. '82 PMA), Jason Graetz, (Ph.D. '03 EAS - Materials Science), and Ioannis Chasiotis, (Ph.D. '02 EAS - Aerospace). 

Tags: honors GALCIT John Dabiri CMS Beverley McKeon Joel Tropp alumni PECASE

06-08-09

The Schmitt Prize recognizes a staff member of the Caltech community whose contributions embody the values and spirit that enable the Institute to achieve excellence in research and education. Sheila has been with Applied and Computational Mathematics (ACM) for almost 30 years and takes care of almost every aspect of the day-to-day activities in ACM, including proposal submission and grant management; management of staff members, visitors, and students; organization of international conferences; recruitment of students and instructors; utilization of space; and, most importantly, "care and feeding" of the ACM faculty, which is not without its challenges. As one of her nominators wrote: "It is people like her, in direct daily contact with faculty and students, that truly define the atmosphere in our Institute." Kudos Sheila! 

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09-23-08

Alexei Kitaev, Professor of Theoretical Physics and Computer Science, has been named a MacArthur Fellow, winning one of the five-year, $500,000 grants that are awarded annually to creative, original individuals and that are often referred to as the "genius" awards. Kitaev explores the mysterious behavior of quantum systems and their implications for developing practical applications, such as quantum computers. He has made important theoretical contributions to a wide array of topics within condensed-matter physics, including quasicrystals and quantum chaos. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: honors CMS Alexei Kitaev

08-18-08

Professor Adam Wierman has been named a recipient of the 2008 Okawa Foundation Research Grant. This prize honors top young researchers working in the fields of information and telecommunications. The grant awardees will be honored by the Okawa Foundation on October 8 in San Francisco.

Tags: honors CMS Adam Wierman