🎓 Caltech News – May 2026
🔬 Research & Innovation
🔬 Caltech and Stanford Develop Quantum Acoustics Devices — Physicists at Caltech and Stanford University have developed nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) that enable phonons to exhibit quantum behavior through the material's intrinsic properties. Reported in Nature Physics, these devices could significantly impact quantum computing, communications, and biological measurements.
🔬 Caltech Reveals 2026 National Brown Investigator Award Recipients — The Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech has announced the 2026 class of Brown Investigators, comprising eight mid-career faculty tackling fundamental challenges in chemistry and physics. Each investigator will receive up to $2 million over five years to support curiosity-driven research with promising long-term applications.
🎓 Admissions & Policy
🎓 Caltech Revamps Admissions for Greater Equity in Applications — On August 31, Caltech introduced an updated admissions application for the undergraduate class of 2028, featuring new pathways for students lacking required STEM courses and revised short-essay questions. This initiative aims to enhance equity in admissions processes, alongside commitments to ethical AI use in applications.
👩🏫 Faculty & Alumni
👩🏫 Caltech Honors 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients — Caltech celebrated its 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, including Leonidas Guibas, Eddy W. Hartenstein, Shouleh Nikzad, and David Van Essen for their remarkable contributions in fields such as computer science and neuroscience. President Thomas F. Rosenbaum noted that these alumni exemplify the transformative impact of a Caltech education.
👩🏫 Caltech Students Earn Prestigious 2026 Hertz Fellowships — Caltech students Sam Foxman and Nikhil Seshadri have been named among the 2026 Hertz Fellows, one of the most competitive doctoral fellowships in applied science, engineering, and mathematics. Foxman is recognized for his work with NASA, while Seshadri plans to pursue his doctoral studies in chemistry at Caltech.
California Institute of Technology news digest for May 2026 · Source: California Institute of Technology Newsroom