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"Unionization will allow us to collectively bargain for better working conditions and codify them in an enforceable contract," write grad students and postdocs organizing for C/GPU.
Courtesy of C/GPU Viewpoint articles are a vehicle for members of the Caltech community to express their opinions on issues surrounding the interface of science...
"Building trust through shared values might not be a typical focus during outreach, but I’m hopeful that by prioritizing those relationships, we can grow lasting, authentic, and impactful educational partnerships." - Skyler Ware, Caltech Chemistry Graduate Student
The artwork for this week's viewpoint - on relationship-centered approaches to science outreach - is by Caltech alum and scientist Jennah Colborn.
You can find more work by Jennah and other artists on our website at caltechletters.org.
In this week's viewpoint, Chemistry Graduate Student and Caltech Letters Managing Editor Skyler Ware describes inventive ways of bridging the gap between scientists and their communities.
Illustration by Jennah Colborn for Caltech Letters Viewpoint articles are a vehicle for members of the Caltech community to express their opinions on issues surrounding...
"The time pressure undergraduates experience at Caltech forces students to choose between central aspects of the traditional college experience. A lot of undergrads at Caltech don’t go to lectures, and many that do are late or exhausted." -- Jadzia Livingston, Caltech '20
The artwork for last week's article, on burnout culture at Caltech, is by Caltech alumna and research scientist Jennah Colborn '22.
In this week's Viewpoint, Caltech alumna Jadzia Livingston '20 calls for a re-examination of undergraduate "burnout culture."
Illustration by Jennah Colborn for Caltech Letters Viewpoint articles are a vehicle for members of the Caltech community to express their opinions on issues surrounding...
"In the bellies of these stars— seemingly serene dots in the sky—a high-pressure inferno begins to squeeze together atoms of lighter elements and combine them into heavier ones." -- Kaustav Das, Caltech Astronomy graduate student
The artwork for this week's article, on the stellar origins of the elements, is by our graphics director, Sarah Zeichner. You can view more of Sarah's work at https://www.sarahzeichner.com/
"I am confident that continued research into the complex nature of fear could one day yield deep insights into human behavior, allowing us to better understand and control our decision-making in the real world." - Sharon Chen, former Caltech graduate student
The artwork for this week's article from Sharon Chen on the science of fear and decision-making is by Caltech graduate student Julie Inglis.
You can view more of Julie's work at https://www.julieinglis.com/
Would you reach into a black box if there was a chance a tarantula lurked inside? What if you were paid to reach in? In this week's article, Sharon Chen discusses how fear and anxiety affect our decisions.
“What is its name? Can I pet it?” “That wasn’t the right response,” I thought to myself, my hands sweating inside my blue nitrile safety...
"To my fellow graduate students: resist the deforming gaze of today’s academia, which compels the commodification of your innate curiosity. You have the freedom to direct your research; this is a unique privilege. Do work that fascinates you, even if you can’t justify its immediate utility." - Kian Faizi, Caltech Biology Graduate Student
Welcome back! Caltech Letters is kicking off our fall publication cycle with our annual "Year in Review," highlighting some of our favorite articles from the past academic year.
https://caltechletters.org/science/year-in-review-2022
If you’re interested in science communication, writing, or joining our board, we want to hear from you. All members of the Caltech community are welcome! Email us at [email protected].
Here at Caltech Letters, we’ve wrapped up another fantastic year of bringing science out of the lab and into context. With campus commotion returning to...
Thirty-four years after his death, famed physicist Richard Feynman's legacy continues to be the subject of both celebration and scrutiny. With the publication of his 1985 autobiography "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", the Nobel prize-winning scientist established himself firmly in the public canon as a larger-than-life “physicist, adventurer, and raconteur”. But today, tales of Feynman's free-wheeling personality and frequent womanizing—which may have bolstered his popularity thirty-odd years ago—have since attracted scrutiny and critique. In a 2019 Viewpoints piece, Caltech graduate student Aida Behmard re-examined Feynman's treatment of women in "Surely You're Joking" and how these attitudes reflect and influence harassment culture in universities today, especially at Caltech. https://caltechletters.org/viewpoints/feynman-harassment-science
On the anniversary of Feynman’s death, Ralph Leighton—Feynman's drumming partner who helped create "Surely You're Joking"—wrote about misgivings with this aspect of Feynman's legacy. http://www.feynman.com/2022/02/15/on-this-anniversary/
According to Leighton, in the weeks before his death, the famed scientist himself expressed regret for the "macho womanizer" image he had cultivated. A few years ago, while working on a new edition of "Surely You're Joking," Leighton appealed to the editor at the publishing house to remove the most offensive parts of the text, including Feynman's expletive-laden description of women that he had temporarily adopted at a nightclub near Los Alamos in an unfortunate social experiment. Ultimately, to Leighton’s surprise, the publishers decided to “let the historical record stand”.
Some reflections on the 34th anniversary of Feynman's death, on February 15, 1988.
“Utilitarianism usually cannot be a moral basis for a scientist to pursue their work ethically because the work’s utility cannot be guaranteed.” -- Lev Tsypin, Caltech Biology Graduate Student
Link to article: https://caltechletters.org/viewpoints/nonutilitarian-scientific-ethics
The cover art from Lev’s recent article on funding ethics is by Isabel Swafford based on the photo captured by the author. Check out more of Isabel’s artwork at https://sites.google.com/view/swafford-portfolio-of-works/home
In 2019, Caltech received $750M from Stewart and Lynda Resnick for environmental research—money that was accrued via controversial business practices. Lev Tsypin argues that an appeal to utilitarianism (using funds for “the greater good”) is not enough to justify an uncritical acceptance of this gift.
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Illustration by Isabel Swafford for Caltech Letters over 'Braun Laboratories at Caltech', captured by the author. Viewpoint articles are a vehicle for members of the...
This week, Caltech energy researcher and activist Cora Went argues that scientists should stop accepting research funding from fossil fuel companies.
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Illustration by Isabel Swafford for Caltech Letters Viewpoint articles are a vehicle for members of the Caltech community to express their opinions on issues surrounding...
Ever had to pretend to know something about wine in fancy company? Well, pretend no longer: in our latest article, Siobhan MacArdle explains the chemistry behind that mouth-puckering feeling you get when you drink red wine, and brings you up to speed on the hottest new wine sweeping the nation.
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Illustration by Siobhán MacArdle If you’ve ever drunk wine with a wine aficionado (don’t call them snobs!) you’ve probably heard them describe what they smell—maybe...
"This view of the orchid, submissive to male impulses and receptive to civilizing forces, could certainly present an obstacle to understanding its actively deceptive and manipulative pollination strategies." -- Fayth Tan, Caltech Biology Graduate Student
Link to article: https://caltechletters.org/viewpoints/orchids-science-and-culture
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The cover art from Fayth's recent article on orchids and the impact of culture on science is by Geochemistry grad student Sarah Zeichner. Check out more of Sarah's artwork at https://www.sarahzeichner.com/art
Link to article: https://caltechletters.org/viewpoints/orchids-science-and-culture
Victorian English society was rigidly stratified along race and gender lines. Through the lens of 19th century “orchidelirium,” Fayth Tan writes that these hierarchies resulted in such tight social control that it stunted scientific progress. One such consequence, according to Tan, was sixty years of misunderstanding among biologists about how the bee orchid was pollinated.
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Illustration by Sarah Zeichner for Caltech Letters Viewpoint articles are a vehicle for members of the Caltech community to express their opinions on issues surrounding...
Caltech is known for its research in science, technology, math, economics, and engineering, but we also aim to think critically about the history of our work. Dip into our archives to see how Caltech’s Einstein Papers Project preserves and publishes the less famous writings of one of the best-known scientific figures of the 20th century.
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Three months after the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the soon-to-be-world-famous scientist Albert Einstein signed a document, the “Manifesto to the Europeans”, which...
"Some of the greatest technological advancements in history have come from exploiting the laws of physics." -- Piero Chiappina, Caltech Physics Graduate Student
Link to article: https://caltechletters.org/science/quantum-revolution
You may have heard that quantum computing is the next big thing, ready to propel us into a new technological age. But what is a quantum computer? How is it different from the computer on which you’re reading this sentence? And how close are we to this new, supercharged reality? Graduate student Piero Chiappina explains.
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Illustration by Jennah Colborn for Caltech Letters Some of the greatest technological advancements in history have come from exploiting the laws of physics. With further...
"Development of these new educational tools could not only facilitate more effective remote teaching during the current pandemic, but also expand the capabilities of future classrooms to tackle persistent challenges." -- Shannon Esswein, PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Caltech
Link to our article: https://caltechletters.org/viewpoints/video-games-stem-education
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Shout out to PhD student Karena Cai for her amazing illustrations in this past Tuesday’s article on taking science education virtual.
You can view more of Karena’s work at https://karenaxcai.com/portfolio.html
Link to the article: https://caltechletters.org/viewpoints/video-games-stem-education
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