Faculty

As you might expect, an institution of Caltech’s caliber has some serious overachievers on its faculty. Five Nobel laureates are currently in residence, including recent winners Robert Grubbs (chemistry) and David Politzer (physics) while 33% of our faculty are members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering and/or fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This is the highest percentage of any faculty in the country with the exception of Rockefeller University (they do not enroll undergraduates.)

Opportunities abound to interact with scientists who are pursuing world-changing research.
 

Heath lab


 


 


 


 


 


 

The ratio of undergraduate students to full-time, professorial faculty is 3 to 1. Among other benefits, this ratio gives undergraduate students many chances to work with faculty as professional collegues. Students are mentored very closely by faculty advisors (they are assigned one advisor as freshmen and choose another after they pick an option). This mentoring relationship provides a great opportunity for students to make connections with faculty—to learn about research group positions and to seek career advice. Often faculty members and students are involved in activities outside academics—faculty are known to have dinner with students and to participate in music and theater performances.

Faculty in residence (as of December 2008):

Henry Lester
Professorial faculty 294
Emeriti 108
Research faculty 57
Other faculty 65
Visiting faculty 138
Postdoctoral scholars 535
Senior postdoctoral scholars 36
 
Visitors 115


Faculty and alumni honors and awards (as of December 2008):

Nobel Prize: 31 recipients, 32 prizes
(5 Nobel laureates currently in residence:
Rudolph Marcus, David Baltimore, Ahmed Zewail, Robert Grubbs, David Politzer)
Biographical Sketches of Caltech Nobel Laureates

Crafoord Prize: 5 recipients
(2 Crafoord laureates currently in residence:
Gerald Wasserburg, Don Anderson)

National Medal of Science: 49 recipients

National Medal of Technology: 10 recipients

California Scientist of the Year: 15 recipients

Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences: 85 faculty

Member, National Academy of Sciences: 75 faculty

Member, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine: 4 faculty

Member, National Academy of Engineering: 30 faculty


 

To find out more about the kinds of research pursued by Caltech faculty members, check out the Caltech Experts Guide and explore the websites of our academic divisions.

Harry Gray