News & Events

Headlines

French Republic Knights Professor Ravichandran

05-26-11

G. Ravichandran, John E. Goode, Jr. Professor of Aerospace and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT) has been selected to receive the Chevalier de l'ordre des Palmes Académiques, which is the Knight grade of the French Republic's Order of Academic Palms. Founded by Napoleon in 1808 to honor educators and scholars,  this distinction recognizes eminent personalities who have made significant contributions to the development of French culture, science, and education.  

More »

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Guruswami Ravichandran Order of Academic Palms

Experiments Settle Long-Standing Debate about Mysterious Array Formations in Nanofilms

05-19-11

Sandra M. Troian, Professor of Applied Physics, Aeronautics, and Mechanical Engineering, and colleagues' experiments have confirmed which of three possible mechanisms is responsible for the spontaneous formation of three-dimensional (3-D) pillar arrays in nanofilms (polymer films that are billionths of a meter thick). "My ultimate goal is to develop a suite of 3-D lithographic techniques based on remote, digital modulation of thermal, electrical, and magnetic surface forces," Troian says. Confirmation of the correct mechanism has allowed her to deduce the maximum resolution or minimum feature size ultimately possible with these patterning techniques. [Caltech Press Release]

Tags: APhMS research highlights GALCIT MCE Sandra Troian

Caltech Engineering Ranks High on U.S. News Best Grad Schools List

03-15-11

Caltech continues to rate among America's top graduate engineering programs, according to the 2012 U.S. News & World Report list of the best grad schools. U.S. News surveyed administrators at more than 1,200 programs and 13,000 academics and professionals to determine the rankings, which place Caltech among the top five schools in the country in several engineering programs, including first in Aeronautical Engineering, fourth in Mechanical Engineering, and fifth in Electrical Engineering. Overall, the engineering graduate program was rated seventh in the nation. The program, which is among the nation's smallest, was singled out as being the most selective, admitting only 9 percent of prospective students. "Given our minute size, these rankings are great," said Chair Ares Rosakis. 

Tags: EE GALCIT MCE Graduate school rankings

Professor Pellegrino and Xiaowei Deng Receive Best Paper Award

02-23-11

Graduate student Xiaowei Deng and Sergio Pellegrino, Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Civil Engineering, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Senior Research Scientist, have received the Best Paper award from the 11th AIAA Gossamer Systems Forum for their technical paper "Wrinkling of Orthotropic Viscoelastic Membranes." [Read the Paper]

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Sergio Pellegrino

Professors Rosakis and Hoffmann Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

02-08-11

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Michael R. Hoffmann, James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Professor Rosakis was elected for discovery of intersonic rupture, contributions to understanding dynamic failure, and methods to determine stresses in thin-film structures. Professor Hoffmann was elected for oxidative treatment technologies for the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants from water.

More »

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE ESE Ares Rosakis National Academy of Engineering Michael Hoffmann

Professor Rosakis to Receive 2011 Eringen Medal

12-20-10

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Chair, Division of Engineering and Applied Science, will be receiving the A. C. Eringen Medal at the 48th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science where he will also deliver the Engineering Science Lecture.  The A. C. Eringen Medal is awarded in recognition of sustained outstanding achievements in Engineering Science. 

More »

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Ares Rosakis James K. Knowles A. C. Eringen Medal

Caltech's Approach to Graduate Education Validated

10-15-10

All of the 24 ranked graduate programs at Caltech have placed exceptionally high in the National Research Council (NRC) study of more than 5000 graduate research programs, validating the Caltech approach to graduate education. With respect to the EAS Division: Aeronautics, Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Science and Engineering, and Materials Science were ranked in the top five nationally irrespective of size. [Caltech NAS Rankings]

Tags: APhMS EE GALCIT MCE ESE

Professor Ravichandran and Justin Brown Receive Best Paper Award

08-30-10

Professor Guruswami Ravichandran and Justin L. Brown, graduate student in Mechanical Engineering, have been chosen to receive the Best Paper Award at the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) 2010 Conference. The title of the paper is "High Pressure Hugoniot Measurements Using Converging Shocks".

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Guruswami Ravichandran

ASME Outstanding Technical Paper Award

07-12-10

Joseph E. Shepherd, C. L. "Kelly" Johnson Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and colleagues' paper "Gaseous Detonation in Piping Systems Partially Filled with Liquid" (pdf) has been selected to receive the ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division's outstanding technical paper award.

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Joseph Shepherd

Ares Rosakis is the Recipient of the 2010 Brown Engineering Alumni Medal

06-02-10

Ares J. Rosakis, Division Chair; Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the 2010 Brown Engineering Alumni Medal (BEAM). The medal is awarded to distinguished Brown alumni who have established exceptional records of accomplishment in their careers. Professor Rosakis received the medal at a ceremony held in the Brown Alumnae Hall accompanied by his former teacher Rodney J. Clifton, Dean of Brown University School of Engineering, L. Ben Freund, Rosakis' PhD advisor and former Chair of Brown University Division of Engineering, as well as Rosakis' classmate Wei Yang, President of Zhejiang University in China [in photo standing from left to right]. At the same ceremony it was announced that the Division of Engineering at Brown University has been elevated to the School of Engineering at Brown.

Tags: honors GALCIT MCE Ares Rosakis