TIANQIAO AND CHRISSY CHEN NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH BUILDING
We really respect Caltech’s contribution in pushing the boundaries of human knowledge—from outer space to the atom. Caltech can contribute the same greatness to understanding the human brain.”
—TIANQIAO CHEN
In December 2017, the Break Through campaign broke new ground—literally. The campus celebrated the start of construction for a facility that will be at the heart of inquiry into the mysteries of the brain led by faculty in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering.
The state-of-the-art Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Neuroscience Research Building, expected to open in 2020, is one outgrowth of a $115 million gift from Tianqiao Chen and Chrissy Luo.
Their gift also provided funding for a new institute launched by Caltech and the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute in 2016. The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech brings together five interdisciplinary research centers spanning a continuum from studying the basic biology of brain function to investigating human behavior.
Leah Klement is Caltech’s inaugural Anne Rothenberg Postdoctoral Instructor in the Humanities.
ANNE ROTHENBERG POSTDOCTORAL INSTRUCTOR IN THE HUMANITIES LEAH KLEMENT
For Leah Klement, a postdoctoral appointment at Caltech proved to be a twofer.
These endowed postdoctoral positions are critical not only in supporting up-and-coming scholars, but also in confirming Caltech’s interest in both teaching the humanities and developing innovation in the humanities.”
—LEAH KLEMENT
On campus, she joined an extraordinary community of postdocs and faculty in the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences who are scouring the literature and history of medieval Europe for insights into the human condition. And as a bonus, she has access to an unparalleled collection of primary sources at the nearby Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, a partner with the Institute through the Caltech-Huntington Humanities Collaborations.
“To have a world-leading research library with collections in medieval British literature down the street is pretty amazing,” says Klement, Caltech’s Anne Rothenberg Postdoctoral Instructor in the Humanities.
Klement explores literature and historical chronicles to understand how people encounter and address social differences, particularly in times of civil war. The relevance of this research grows in a time when deep political divisions in the United States and overseas regularly sow chaos.
The Rothenberg Instructorship that supports Klement’s work was created through a Break Through campaign gift from Anne Rothenberg and her late husband, Caltech trustee James Rothenberg.
Mikhail Shapiro is one of a current cadre of eight Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigators at Caltech.
KORTSCHAK SCHOLAR JENNIFER J. SUN
“I believe in a future where humans and robots can work together to build a better world for all of us,” says Jennifer J. Sun, Caltech graduate student and Kortschak Scholar in Computing and Mathematical Sciences. “I really want to be part of building that.”
Being a Kortschak Scholar means I have the freedom to explore. I want to understand how intelligent systems will behave and interact with us. That’s the driving question I really want to pursue. And being a Kortschak Scholar inspires me to forge ahead in that pursuit.”
—JENNIFER J. SUN
Sun studies computer vision and machine learning with a larger goal in mind: helping tomorrow’s autonomous systems understand human behavior based on what they see.
Her contributions to the artificially intelligent future are gaining momentum thanks to a $5 million Break Through campaign gift from Silicon Valley executive and Caltech trustee Walter Kortschak (MS ’82) and his wife, Marcia. The Kortschak Scholars program, launched in fall 2017, creates a community of extraordinary doctoral students within the interdisciplinary Caltech Computes initiative.
BREN PROFESSOR ANIMA ANANDKUMAR
Here, I find it very easy to approach faculty across disciplines and to brainstorm, to think of all kinds of ideas that wouldn’t have been possible in other places.”
ANIMA ANANDKUMAR
Machine-learning expert Anima Anandkumar says the top reason she joined Caltech in 2017 is the people: “Caltech has this very collegial, tightknit community of extremely smart people, and that includes highly motivated students. I think that is what I value the most here.”
In her investigations, Anandkumar looks for ways to make algorithms leaner and more effective so they can be scaled up massively. Her appointment as Caltech’s Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences—one of a number of endowed faculty positions benefiting the Caltech Computes initiative—supports her in this enterprise.
An important goal for Anandkumar is to help bridge the gap between academia and industry by making machine learning practical for real-world use. Toward that end, she already has plans to collaborate with fellow Bren Professor Aaron Ames on bringing AI and robotics together.
BREAK THROUGH BY THE NUMBERS
AS OF 3/31/18
CAMPAIGN PROGRESS
$2 BIL$1.62 BILLION
BUILDING ENDOWMENT
Gifts to endowment help ensure that Caltech can be fearless in attacking important problems and defining new fields of inquiry for generations to come.
64%
Publicly launched in April 2016, Break Through: The Caltech Campaign is a $2 billion initiative that will secure Caltech’s future as a source of transformative discovery for the world. of campaign gifts have been committed to endowment.
PARTNERS IN DISCOVERY
Donors to the Break Through campaign—like Caltech scientists and engineers—are dedicated to pursuing the unknowns, the what-ifs, and the never-been-done-befores.
11, 547 192
donors have given to the campaign so far.
3, 559
donors have given $1,000,000 or more. campaign donors (31%) are first-time donors to Caltech.
ALUMNI PAY IT FORWARD
Caltech’s graduates lead the way in almost every field imaginable. They are also deeply loyal to Caltech, evidenced in their support of the Break Through campaign.
$516 M of alumni already have made a gift during the campaign.
39%
has been invested by alumni in the campaign.
EVERY GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Every gift to Caltech, no matter the size, is a powerful investment in people who are seeking solutions to some of the most pressing challenges society faces today.
7, 206 donors have given $1 to $1,000.
Has been invested by alumni in the campaign.
$ 187M has been raised for endowed graduate fellowships.
$159 M has been raised for endowed professorial chairs.
$ 60 M has been raised for endowed undergraduate scholarships.
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INSTITUTES/CENTERS/ INITIATIVES SUPPORTED
Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics
Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience
Heritage Research Institute for the Advancement of Medicine and Science
Kavli Nanoscience Institute
The Ronald and Maxine Linde Institute of Economic and Management Sciences
Resnick Sustainability Institute
Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies
T&C Chen Brain-Machine Interface Center
T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience
T&C Chen Center for Systems Neuroscience
The Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for New Initiatives
Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center
Rothenberg Innovation Initiative
Space-Based Solar Power Project
5 CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SUPPORTED
Bechtel Residence
Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Neuroscience Research Building
Charles C. Gates Jr.–Franklin Thomas Laboratory
Hameetman Center
Ronald and Maxine Linde Hall of Mathematics and Physics
1DEPARTMENT ENDOWED
Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering