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Nearly 100 Torchbearers, students, faculty, and staff gathered at the president’s residence on April 18 for a special luncheon hosted by President Thomas F. Rosenbaum and his wife, Katherine T. Faber, the Simon Ramo Professor of Materials Science.
“You’ve made a statement about the future, that you see Caltech as the kind of place that can define the future,” said Rosenbaum, holder of the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of physics. “We are really grateful that you are investing in that.”
Ria Patel, a double-major in computation and neural systems and business, economics, and management, gave heartfelt thanks to attendees for their support. “At Caltech, excellence isn’t competitive—it’s collective. We genuinely succeed together,” said Patel, who is completing her fourth year. “Places like Caltech don’t exist by accident. They exist because people like you care enough to invest in students you may never meet.”
Woodward Fischer, the Jean-Lou Chameau Professor of Geobiology and divisional academic officer for geological and planetary sciences, gave a presentation on the singular event of oxygenic photosynthesis. “Aerobic respiration is incredibly powerful. It yields the most energy of any metabolic process,” said Fischer, describing how this response to oxygen in the environment freed organisms from the constant pursuit of energy and enabled them to thrive.
From top: Woodward Fischer, Jean-Lou Chameau Professor of Geobiology and divisional academic officer for geological and planetary sciences; David (MS ’73, ENG ’75) and Elizabeth Bremmer; Maggie and Hamid Habib-Agahi. Credit Chris Flynn/Caltech
