Caltech Alumni Association's magazine celebrating our alumni
Long before Google, Apple, or SpaceX got in the game, the most powerful company to pursue privatized basic scientific research belonged to “Ma Bell.” For a long stretch of the 20th century, Bell Laboratories was one of the most innovative scientific organizations in the world, producing a steady stream of discoveries that heralded the modern age of communication, electronics, computer programming, and more. We spoke with Jon Gertner, author of the book The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation, about the iconic company and some of the intersections it had with Caltech.
After five decades hunting for intelligent life in the universe, we have yet to find any evidence. Does it mean there’s nothing out there? Or do we need to rethink what we’re searching for?
An accomplished scientist and leader, FRANCE CÓRDOVA (PhD ’79) brings a lifetime of experience to her role as the director of the National Science Foundation, defying expectations, placing big bets, and always keeping an eye toward the future.
Forecasting elections is becoming more sophisticated, thanks in part to methods developed by Erin Hartman (BS ’07).
An accomplished scientist and leader, FRANCE CÓRDOVA (PhD ’79) brings a lifetime of experience to her role as the director of the National Science Foundation, defying expectations, placing big bets, and always keeping an eye toward the future.
A strange mineral in an Italian museum, secret diaries, gem smugglers, a meteorite, and an expedition to a remote part of the world... The extraordinary global hunt for the origins of a rock that was not supposed to exist.
Long before Google, Apple, or SpaceX got in the game, the most powerful company to pursue privatized basic scientific research belonged to “Ma Bell.” For a long stretch of the 20th century, Bell Laboratories was one of the most innovative scientific organizations in the world, producing a steady stream of discoveries that heralded the modern age of communication, electronics, computer programming, and more. We spoke with Jon Gertner, author of the book The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation, about the iconic company and some of the intersections it had with Caltech.
After five decades hunting for intelligent life in the universe, we have yet to find any evidence. Does it mean there’s nothing out there? Or do we need to rethink what we’re searching for?
A strange mineral in an Italian museum, secret diaries, gem smugglers, a meteorite, and an expedition to a remote part of the world... The extraordinary global hunt for the origins of a rock that was not supposed to exist.
Forecasting elections is becoming more sophisticated, thanks in part to methods developed by Erin Hartman (BS ’07).
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