Welcome Message from the Chair, Dennis Dougherty

With end of the academic year, come the celebrations – and we have much to revel in.

First and foremost, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2024. Your dedication, perseverance, and scholarly achievements have culminated in this significant milestone. I have no doubt that each of you will go on to make meaningful contributions to your respective fields. Read on to learn more about some of these graduates and where they are headed to next.

I am also pleased to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our students and faculty in these past few months including the promotion of Max Robb to Professor of Chemistry and the election of Jonas Peters to the National Academy of Sciences. The student awards listed in this newsletter not only reflect academic excellence but also leadership and service, such as the James LuValle Awards.

Amidst our celebrations, however, we must also acknowledge the passing of Fred Anson, a cherished member of our faculty and history. His dedication as professor and chair to our division and his impact on countless students and colleagues will always be remembered fondly.

As many of you know, this is my last newsletter as Division Chair. I am proud of what all of us achieved during the past five years. CCE rose to the challenge of the global pandemic and kept our research and education missions going, while minimizing the impact of a deadly virus. After the murder of George Floyd, CCE was a leader on campus in expanding our efforts to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Caltech. We have reinvigorated our undergraduate curriculum, and we successfully dealt with the destruction of the Mead Labs, the creation of new temporary undergraduate teaching labs in Crellin and Church, and now the move to beautiful new undergraduate teaching labs in the Resnick Sustainability Center. We added eight new faculty to our ranks, assistant professors and more senior investigators, all of whom will add to the excellence of our research and education programs. With the help of Layla Tremalio and our Advancement team, we raised significant funds to support our research and educational missions.

All this was very much a team effort, and I thank all the staff for their great support of CCE, notably Joe Drew and most especially Grace Liang-Franco, whose talent and commitment to CCE have elevated the Division in many ways. It has been an honor to serve as Division Chair. I know Sarah Reisman will do great job as the next Division Chair, and I wish her and all my colleagues the best.

Let us know your thoughts on this newsletter at cce@caltech.edu.