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), and many of our faculty are members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering and/or fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Opportunities abound to interact with scientists who are pursuing world-changing research.
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 2007):
Professorial faculty 296 Emeriti 104 Research faculty 60 Other faculty 53 Visiting faculty 100 Postdoctoral scholars 577 Senior postdoctoral scholars 33
Visitors 108
Faculty and alumni honors and awards (as of December 2007):
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 LaureatesCrafoord Prize: 5 recipients
(3 Crafoord laureates currently in residence:
Gerald Wasserburg, Seymour Benzer, 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: 84 faculty
Member, National Academy of Sciences: 74 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.
