tech@caltech.edu
Volume CXiV number 3 Pasadena, California oCtober 13, 2010
Basketball The number of recruiters at
Caltech’s career fair reflects the
team to kick national economy
off the season 120
120
16000
16,000.00
with Midnight
Dow Jones Industrial Average
100
100
14,000.00
Number of companies
Number
of
companies
Madness
12,000.00
80
80
10,000.00
60
60
8,000.00
By Tina Ding recruited athletes, and these ath- 40
40
6,000.00
Editor-in-ChiEf letes are not given a leg up during
the admissions process. 4,000.00
This Thursday, Caltech’s men’s Instead, Caltech’s two basket- 20
20
and women’s basketball teams ball coaches contact qualified 2,000.00
will kick off the start of the of- students who otherwise would
ficial basketball season by throw- not have applied or “believed that 00
0
0.00
ing the first Midnight Madness they were not qualified based on 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010
event in Caltech history. the academic myths of Caltech,” Fall Winter 3
1
2
4
Fall Winter 7
5
6
8
Fall Winter 11
12
Fall
9
10
13
Midnight Madness is a tradi- said Marbut. These recruited
tional collegiate basketball event students, typically high school Year
Plotted above in bar format are the numbers of companies at the Fall and Winter
that takes place on the first day seniors, are brought to Caltech Caltech Career Fairs from 2007 to 2011. The line graph depicts the Dow Jones Industrial
that National Collegiate Athletic where they meet the team, at- Average trend in this period of time. The most recent career fair, in January 2010, had
Association (NCAA) allows the tend classes, and stay with a team 51 companies recruiting Caltech students. This upcoming career fair on October 26
sport to begin practice. With the player host. “I like to call it rela- already has 78 companies signed up, and there are not enough spaces in the career fair to
first tick of the clock at 12:01am tionship building,” said Marbut. accomodate all of the interested companies.
of October 15th, the basketball According to Marbut, who has
Career fair data is obtained from the career fair archive on the Caltech Career Center
teams will do some dunks and been coaching the women’s team website, based on lists of the companies that attended each career fair, and data from
drills to signify this commence- at Caltech for eight seasons, the this year’s career fair was provided by the Career Center Office. For full coverage, see
ment, but the bulk of the event is previous men’s basketball coach PAge 6.
celebration. Roy Dow recruited more nar-
“We want to pump up the new rowly, and was “moderately suc-
players on the team and get the cessful, getting one or two key
Caltech community excited about students every year.” Senior and
Admissions initiates a
the upcoming season,” said men’s captain Ryan Elmquist was one of
basketball Coach Oliver Eslinger Dow’s recruits.
who initiated the efforts for this Eslinger’s more aggressive re-
event. cruitment has resulted in an influx
fly-in visit program for
The event, partially funded by of eleven freshmen basketball
Housing and Student Life, begins players in 2009 and five fresh-
at 10:30pm with food followed men basketball players in 2010.
by games, prizes, and giveaways Therefore, the current team of
underrespresented high
at 11pm, and climaxes with the about 16-18 players is made of
highlight of the night at 12:01am two seniors, one junior, and the
when the men’s and women’s bas- rest sophomores and freshmen.
ketball teams will be introduced “It’s probably the youngest team
school seniors
to the Caltech community. in the country,” said Eslinger.
“We need to have that extra en- Eslinger looks forward to
ergy from our fans to add to the working with the sophomores and
sum of freshmen recruits in the upcoming
o u r season.
parts The men’s team this season is “We have
for a composed of much more experi- b e c o m e By Casey Jao seminar day, and live with hosts underrepresented backgrounds
s u c - enced players than was the team m u c h in undergraduate houses. On Sat- with scientific leanings and strong
cessful m o r e Staff WritEr
competi- urday they will meet members academic profiles, and invited
sea- two years ago. To help diversify the under- of the faculty and senior admin- them to submit credentials for
son,” tive as we
build our graduate applicant pool, Caltech istration over dinner at the Ath- the fly-in program. The winners
said admissions is inaugurating its first enaeum. were selected based on their high
women’s basketball Coach San- team,” said Eslinger, “I want to
annual “Caltech Up Close” pro- While both Caltech Up Close school transcript, test scores, and
dra Marbut, who recounted the give the seniors a chance to have gram. Thirty carefully screened and Prefrosh weekend try to get demonstrated interest in studying
crowd’s excitement when the success as they finish their last US high school seniors, all from students excited about Caltech, at Caltech.
women’s team won their first season.” underrepresented backgrounds, they target different audiences. “We wanted to be selective
conference game in the 2006-7 The women’s basketball began
recruiting eight years ago when have been invited to visit and All thirty students come from because we know the criterion is
season. live at Caltech from the 14th to “populations underrepresented in pretty high for our admissions,”
The men’s team this season is Marbut became the coach. Over the 16th of October. Admissions STEM fields as a whole, includ- said Whitney.
composed of much more experi- the years, she has seen the team hopes that these students will all ing women, first generation fami- Despite the process similar-
enced players than was the team improve with these efforts, as leave Caltech wanting a spot in lies, ethnic minorities, and people ity, Whitney emphasized that in-
two years ago. When Oliver Es- they go from an average loss mar- the class of 2015. of low economic status,” said vitation to Caltech Up Close is
linger started as the coach of the gin of over 70 points to an aver- The fly-in program resembles Karly Brockett, associate director independent of admission to the
men’s team two years ago, he ini- age loss margin of 17 points. “It’s Prefrosh Weekend but “is specifi- of admissions who is coordinat- class of 2015. The expectation,
tiated an active “recruiting” cam- not our mission to win every sin- cally designed not to be a replica- ing this program. though, is that participants in the
paign to reach out to academically gle game,” said Marbut. Rather, tion of the pre-frosh programs in They are the winners of a com- fly-in program will matriculate at
qualified students with experience she explains, the team aims to be April,” said admissions director petitive application process for a higher rate if admitted.
in basketball. However, his re- competitive so that the students Jarrid Whitney. They will visit the thirty spots. Earlier this year, “The hard part is getting them
cruitment efforts differ from that can have a sense of pride for their classes, tour JPL, attend SURF admissions officers identified top to our campus,” said Whitney.
at most other colleges-- Caltech underdog team. rising high school seniors from
offers no monetary incentives to
In This Issue Caltech’s
Nobel Peace Prize new
controversy James Watson gives life advice page 3 professors
page 2 Bruno Mars goes to jail for cocaine page 3 2010
Soccer lost to La Verne page 7 pages 4-5
2 oCtober 13, 2010 OpiniOn the California teCh
China’s crackdown on Big Virtue?
Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Shaggy A Fig
unwarranted and unjustified By Hank Charlotte
What is it about bad boys that “better to reign in hell than serve
makes good girls swoon? Is it in Heaven!” He’s an exemplary
cerated for their the brooding scowl, the piercing leader, braving the most danger-
By Pradeep Ramesh gaze, the fierce individuality, the
participation in ous and difficult tasks for the
Photo from Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
Staff WritEr
the Tianemen disregard for authority… maybe benefit of his followers. Though
Sqaure protests. the hair? Satan is the embodiment of Pride
On October 8, 2010, Liu Xi- Unfortunately, I don’t know the (the worst sin), we admire him
aobo, a prominent advocate for In addition to
creating Charter answer to that question (if you in part for this immorality be-
democracy in China, was award- have an answer, gals, I wouldn’t cause his leadership and defiance
ed the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in 08, Dr. Liu was
charged with mind knowing the secret). But it wouldn’t be the same without it.
recognition of “his long and non- leads to a more fundamental and This admiration partly explains
violent struggle for fundamental “inciting sub-
version of state general question, one that litera- our disposition to excuse Satan’s
human rights in China.” Recently ture deals with extensively: can iniquity and is one reason we tol-
condemned by the Chinese gov- power” after he
published six immorality be virtuous? erate immorality.
ernment to serve an eleven year Of course not, you might say. Another possibility is that we
sentence for drafting a petition, articles online.
Despite have Immorality is the opposite of vir- sympathize with immorality be-
known as Charter 08, that de- tue by definition. Psalm 1 says cause we have committed the
manded the right to free-speech, garnered more
than 10,000 sig- that the wicked “are like chaff same ourselves or wish we could.
open elections, and the rule of that the wind blows away.” Isaiah A classic example is Antony, the
law, Dr. Liu has become the icon- natures since
its publication, Liu Xiaobo
3:11 says “Woe unto the wicked! greatest general of the Roman
ic symbol of those pursuing po- with his wife, Liu Xia in 2002 it shall be ill with him: for the re- empire and the manliest man in
litical reform in China. Charter 08’s ex-
istence remains unknown to most economic policy has succeeded ward of his hands shall be given ancient history, who throws it all
Indeed, last year’s arrest was him.” Romans 6:23 says “the away and neglects his wife and
not his first encounter with the of China’s citizens. in lifting millions out of poverty,
In awarding the prize to Dr. Liu, its increasing crackdown on dis- wages of sin is death.” Punish- country for a woman—Cleopatra
harsh Chinese judicial system; ment for iniquity is swift and (admittedly, very pretty). It’s al-
Dr. Liu was first imprisoned for the Nobel Committee offered a senters reflects the government’s
glaring rebuke to China’s authori- discomfort and uncertainty with sure. When King David coveted most impossible for readers not to
21 months for taking part in the Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, and took admire and praise Antony’s indis-
1989 pro-democracy protests at tarian government, which threat- its newfound wealth and power.
ened the Norwegian government The Chinese economic miracle her for himself, their son died by cretion, what Coleridge described
Tianemen Square. In 1996, he was the hand of God. The fruit of im- as “the sense of criminality in
sentenced to work in a labor camp with retaliatory measures, despite has bolstered the ranks of a mid-
the fact that the committee oper- dle-class which is increasingly morality is always rotten. [Antony’s] passion.” Antony
for three years after demanding But our gut tells us that things demonstrates potency of action,
clemency for those still incar- ates independently of the govern- agitating for greater political
ment. In sentencing Dr. Liu, the freedoms. It is time for the Chi- are more complicated than that. freedom, infinite variety, and ex-
Chinese government has violated nese government to recognize the Have you ever rooted for an im- pansive love; and he transcends
explicit provisions in its own political aspirations of its people. moral character? Someone like mortal moral limits in his heroic
constitution that guarantee the Let us stand together and offer a Michael Corleone, the power- actions. So yes, we know that
The California Tech right to free-speech and peaceful united voice of protest against the ful and generous Don from The
Godfather who demands loyalty
Antony’s actions were probably
assembly; as such, the detention government’s cruel and unjusti- immoral, but isn’t there virtue in
Caltech 40-58, Pasadena, CA 91125
advertising e-mail: business@caltech.edu is legally and morally unwar- fied actions. on pain of death, or Glee’s Mr. Antony’s love for Cleopatra, even
editorial e-mail: tech@caltech.edu ranted. While the government’s Schuster, the handsome, upstand- if he loved too much?
ing teacher who has a weakness We may subscribe to certain
Editor-in-Chief for women other than his wife, moral systems intellectually, but
Tina Ding or maybe Dr. House, the brilliant literature gives us windows into
Copy Editor doctor who happens to be a jerk what we truly believe, what we
Sarah Marzen and a drug addict. If you have, really feel to be right, and what
then you know that sometimes we would actually do in real life
Layout Editor immorality can be strangely en- situations. It’s scary to think that
Hanna Liu dearing. Qualities that should we might not act according to
repulse an audience are instead our rational beliefs, but it is even
attractive. worse to be unaware of our sus-
Take Satan from Paradise Lost, ceptibility to impulse.
Business Manager for example. He’s Satan, can’t Maybe that impulse is a good
Gabriel Mendoza get much more evil than that. thing. It means that there’s a bad
But he’s strangely charismatic. boy in each of us. Let ‘em loose,
Staff
There’s a nobility in his refusal lads!
Deboki Chakravarti to submit to the establishment,
Sandhya Chandrasekaran
Yang Hu
Casey Jao
Rebecca Lawler
Monorina Mukhopadhyay
Joel Nikolaus
Pradeep Ramesh
Neha Samdaria
Jonathan Schor
Stanford Schor
Gloria Tran
James Wu
Vivian Yang
Wesley Yu
Chris Zheng
Circulation
Arjun Ravikumar
Advisor
Write for the Tech.
Tom Mannion
The Tech is published weekly except dur-
ing vacation and examination periods by
the Associated Students of the California
Institute of Technology, Inc. The opinions
expressed herein are strictly those of the
authors and advertisers.
Letters and submissions are welcome; e-
mail submissions to tech@caltech.edu as
plain-text attachments, including the au-
thor’s name, by Friday of the week before
publication. The Tech does accept anony-
We pay up to $30 for news articles.
mous contributions. The editors reserve the
right to edit and abridge all submissions for
any reason. All written work remains prop-
erty of its author.
The advertising deadline is 5 PM Friday;
all advertising should be submitted elec-
tronically or as camera-ready art, but The
email tech@caltech.edu
Tech can also do simple typesetting and
arrangement. All advertising inquiries
should be directed to the business manager
at business@caltech.edu. For subscription
information, please send mail to “Subscrip-
tions.”
the California teCh Feature oCtober 13, 2010 3
One Republic and Maroon 5 Sweets
woo at the greek in Old
Bruno Mars misses concert for jail Pas
aria by Neha Samdaria
Samd
by Sarah Marzen and Wesley Yu by Neha
Photo
Continued from last week...
On Friday night, Bruno Mars “Good Life” and
(“Just the Way You Are”, “Bil- “All the Right “Le Pain Quotidien” literally means “The
lionaire”, “Nothin’ on You”) and Moves.” Daily Bread” in French, and this is the first
One Republic (“Apologize”, When Maroon thing you see upon entering the bakery. The
Photo from www.songkick.com/concerts/
“Stop and Stare”) were supposed 5 took the stage, rows of fresh bread on display, the classi-
to open for Maroon 5 (“This the crowd went cal background music, the wooden furni-
Love”, “She Will Be Loved”, from excited to ture and the extremely friendly staff give
“Wake Up Call”) at the Greek wild. Despite this restaurant a more casual and welcom-
Theater in Hollywood. the crowd’s ex- ing feel. Entering through the glass doors
Unfortunately, Bruno Mars was citement, Ma- makes me feel like I am entering my Grand-
caught with 2.6 grams of cocaine roon 5’s first two mother’s house, waiting to taste her favorite
after his September 19th Las Ve- songs (“Mis- home-cooked recipe.
gas concert, and he is now facing ery” and “Give After scanning the menu, we settle upon
criminal charges. Needless to a Little More”) an Almond-Apricot Madeline, a Lemon Tart
say, Mars missed his scheduled lacked energy. and a pot of Red Fruit Tea. The Madeline,
opener at the Greek Theater this Perhaps the as my friend remarked, tastes like “a giant
past Friday. Instead, relatively lackluster show- almond”. While there are apricot pieces to
unknown artist Rye Cuming-- a ing of “Misery” be found inside, their flavor is largely hid-
Hollywood-handsome, smooth and “Give a Adam Levine, den by the overwhelming almond taste.
Australian tenor—opened the Little More” on Maroon 5’s The lemon tart, on the other hand, has a
concert to a nearly empty theater. the Billboard frontman, very mild lemon taste. It is neither too bit-
Apparently, the crowd had opted singles chart had performs at a ter nor too sour, and has a slight custardy
to crowd the bars downstairs in- killed Maroon concert. This taste which complements the dense crust.
stead of watching Cuming’s per- 5’s excitement picture was not We enjoy both desserts, even though one
formance. for those songs. taken at the was really quite different to what we were
One Republic followed Cuming However, Ma- greek Theater. expecting.
with some major hits including roon 5 loosened Before ordering the tea, I had asked the
“Apologize,” “Stop and Stare,” up when they waitress what a “Red Fruit Tea” really was,
and “Secrets,” all delivered with sang the hits that and she had replied “ A strong, passionfruit
overwhelming zeal. By the time had made them tea”. She couldn’t be more right - this was
One Republic started, the stands famous. Addition- Hillhurst and Finley Ave. It isn’t the strongest fruit tea I had ever tasted! For
were packed. Though some live ally, their cover of Alicia Key’s too expensive, if you’re willing those who love the indulgent, sharp taste
performers fall short of their re- “If I Ain’t Got You” was surpris- to spend $20 per person for a of passionfruit tea, this is perhaps for you.
corded soundtracks, One Repub- ingly good, partly because that small dinner, and the atmosphere For a black tea enthusiast such as myself, it
lic frontman Ryan Tedder is a song sounds completely different is casual but nice. The pumpkin came as a bit of a shock.
notable exception. Adding mul- when sung by a man. Unlike One ravioli with walnuts is absolutely Upon visiting Le Pain Quotidien again, I
tiple original riffs to well-known Republic, Maroon 5 is less a five- delicious, a perfect nutty fall dish will stick more with the desserts and drinks
hits, Tedder was the consummate member band than it is a one-man in a creamy white sauce. The ser- that I am familiar and comfortable with, be-
showman, combining the sponta- show. Watching captivating lead vice is excellent; they were very cause trying new things at this bakery has
neity of the stage with solid tech- singer Adam Levine move across accommodating and were really not been an entirely pleasant experience.
nical singing. He also slipped in the stage was a treat. quick when we let them know However, I can say for sure that I will be
a comment on the Bruce Mars that we had a concert to make. coming back here, because the experience
incident, saying “crowds are the ----------------- The only difficult thing is park- of a bakery, or any restaurant for that mat-
new drug.” Other members of the ing. There’s a small valet lot in ter, is much more than just the food. It is
band were equally good and cel- A great place for food before a the back, but you can also find also about the friendliness of the staff, the
list Brent Kutzle added depth to concert is Farfalla, a small Ital- free parking a few streets east. overall ambience of the place and the feel-
the more introspective pieces like ian restaurant at the corner of ing you get when you leave. And I felt great
after having visited here.
Watson gives light-hearted advice in autobiography
by Vivian Yang
Even after just two weeks of and discreetly:
Caltech life, freshmen who have know who he is. esting things like “which house Chapter 1: Find a
Photo from http://www.edwardmanukyan.com/james_watson.html
been bombarded with acronyms Jim Watson applied to Caltech adviser” and “academic civility.” young hero to emu-
and colloquy are sure to know as an undergraduate in search of He describes his mental processes late.
what the term “admissions mis- a graduate position to “study the in excruciating detail and ends Chapter 4: Use
take” is. Many of us believe that gene.” He intended to work with each chapter with a list of “re- first names as soon
we are “admissions mistakes”, the Professor Linus Pauling, who membered lessons” which critics as possible
unlucky students who got a thick would ironically later compete claim are important for the devel- Chapter 5: Avoid
envelope in the mail in the spring with Watson in the race to find opment of young scientist, but I boring people.
of our senior year of high school the double helix structure of the also believe they are crucial for
only because the Caltech Admis- DNA. Although Caltech was his the development of real people. Watson gives us a
sions Office misspelled someone first choice, Watson’s grades at Some of them are literal and panoramic view into
else’s name. We come to Caltech the University of Chicago pre- perhaps life-saving: his life in science.
to surround ourselves with No- sumably did not impress the Chapter 1: Avoid fighting big- He tells us that mad
bel laureates and MacArthur fel- Caltech graduate admissions, and ger boys or dogs. scientists who are
lows and bask in their intellectual so Watson went to Indiana Uni- Chapter 10: Buy, don’t rent, a always cooped up
prowess. Even though two weeks versity instead. suit of tails. in their rooms don’t
into term we have already been In his autobiography, Avoid Chapter 15: Never dye your make any real prog-
bogged down by problem sets, Boring People, Watson not only hair or use collagen. ress, either due to
we still believe we are a special provides tips for aspiring Nobel lack of funds or lack
group because we weren’t a part laureates, but he also discloses Some are education and re- of the right kinds of
of the 85% rejected. the real bureaucracy of research search oriented much like what a friends. Watson’s
But what about the other admis- life. About writing this autobiog- mentor might tell his mentee: ambition, luck, in-
sions mistakes? The people who raphy, Watson claims he wants to Chapter 4: Late summer experi- tellect, and subse-
should have got in instead of us, “be the first to employ them [his ments go against human nature. quent success as a
who has so much more potential, “unpublished writerly output”] Chapter 8: Encourage under- Nobel Prize laure-
ambition, and intellect than our- extensively to prepare this look graduate research. ate obviously ex-
selves. One of these mistakes was at [his] life before middle age Chapter 13: Close competitors pose the mistake of
a young Chicagoan named James became obvious.” Each chapter should publish simultaneously. the graduate school
D. Watson, better known as Jim is titled with a phase of Watson’s admissions office in
Watson. life, including boring things like And a few are related to climb- rejecting this great figurehead in
Shame on you if you don’t “undergraduate” and more inter- ing the social ladder gracefully genetics.
4 oCtober 13, 2010 Feature the California teCh
Spotlight on Tech
A look at new professors
Nicolas Marina
Wey-
BY JONATHAN AND STANFORD SCHOR
Jose Andrade Agranov
Gomez
Professor Wey-Gomez spent the bulk Marina Agranov is joining the Depart-
of his childhood in Bogota, Colombia. In ment of Humanities and Social Sciences as
fact, it was not until his senior year of high an Assistant Professor of Economics. She
school, when his parents moved to Boston only recently moved to the United States
to complete their master’s degrees, that in order to complete a PhD in economics at
he truly considered attending college in New York University (NYU), after which
America. As Professor Wey-Gomez puts she was offered a position at Caltech.
it, though, the “idea of…exploring a bit… Agranov was born in Russia and attend-
was incredibly important,” so he decided ed St. Petersburg State Technical Universi-
to stay in Massachusetts to attend Brandeis ty where she learned “math and Marxism”
University. but not the sort of economic theory that she
Initially, Professor Wey-Gomez intended had hoped to learn.
to go into Physics; however, during college After receiving her Bachelor’s degree
he began to write creatively and was an New this year in the Department of En- work and joining him on sites, so when he in 1999, she emigrated to Israel and began
avid reader. He decided to pursue a major gineering and Applied Science is Associate was ready for college, eighteen-year old pursuing a Master’s from Tel Aviv Univer-
in Latin American Studies, and then con- Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engi- Andrade left South America for the Florida sity.
tinued on to Johns Hopkins for a writing neering Jose Andrade. Institute of Technology. There, he followed There, she found classes that would en-
workshop and for graduate school, starting Andrade left a professorship at North- a straightforward path toward his goal of able her to understand current economics
in 1986. western in order to join the Caltech com- becoming a civil engineer like his father, and a warm and collaborative environment.
At Johns Hopkins, Professor Wey-Gomez munity, making the move for both profes- until he took a class with an unimpressive Her desire to replicate this environment led
focused his research on the accounts of Eu- sional and personal reasons. He recognized structural analysis professor. His profes- her to attend NYU and was a driving factor
ropean travelers to the New World, particu- the potential to “join great colleagues and sors in soil mechanics and mechanics of in her decision to come to Caltech.
larly those of Christopher Columbus. do things that are synergistic with the work materials caused him to rethink his strict Agranov does much of her work at the
Through these accounts, he learned the that I do” at Caltech, but also admitted focus on civil engineering. He decided that interface between economics and political
Columbus sought out a southern, tropical that winters in Northwestern were becom- his interests were broader than he origi- science, and she noted that her department
environment due to the prevailing scien- ing too much of a hassle for him and his nally assumed, so went off to Stanford to itself is unique in that “there’s a lot of inter-
tific views of the time: that climate implied family. Andrade also had an offer from the pursue a Ph.D. Looking back on the deci- disciplinary work.”
temperament, and that tropical peoples Massachusetts Institute of Technology but sion to shift his career path, Andrade noted Last year she wrote a paper (not yet
could not rule themselves. In fact, this be- realized that he couldn’t “screw up profes- that “being focused isn’t always bad… published) that analyzed the effect that a
came the topic of his most recent book, sionally with either school.” One of his [you just have to] recognize opportunities two-stage election (a primary followed by
The Tropics of Empire, and continues to be three children was born in North California for reinvention.”This seems to be a mantra a general election) has on the success of
a research vein that he pursues today. so it only seemed natural to return to the that Andrade bases much of his life on. He a candidate. She came up with a theoreti-
Professor Wey-Gomez comes to Caltech Golden State and leave winter behind. has already considered future attempts at cal model of two-stage elections to test the
from an illustrious teaching background, Professor Andrade’s work revolves working in politics, starting his own res- idea that primaries hurt a party’s chances
filled with high-powered schools such as around using computational mechanics taurant, and he hopes to found a foundation during the general election.
Brown and MIT. to model the behavior of certain geologi- for children in Latin America to “directly Here Agranov says she will be able to
His choice to come to Caltech is due to cally interesting materials. In particular, help kids in a way that random events further test any other models by using the
his appreciation for tech students’ “out-of- he examines soil, rock, and concrete, all of helped me get to where I am now.” experimental lab on campus, which pro-
the-box” thinking, as well as its good group which belong to the family of geologic ma- Outside of the office, family life and his vides monetary incentives for students to
of scholars for the early modern period. terials and all of which are important to the three children take up a large portion of act like candidates or voters in a simula-
This year, Professor Wey-Gomez will civil, defense, and energy concerns of any his remaining time, but he still makes time tion.
be teaching courses in the history of ex- country, according to Andrade. The specif- for a number of hobbies. Among these is While she does spend a large portion of
ploration and the literature of that period, ics of this research range from understand- cooking and entertaining; “My wife is the her time working at Caltech, Agranov en-
and will also be leading a class in how the ing the physics of landslides to finding ide- house cook,” he said, “and I am the house joys playing piano and guitar and listening
early modern world shaped Miguel de Cer- al methods for sequestering carbon dioxide chef.” Andrade noted that his passion for to jazz with her friends.
vantes’ Don Quijote. underground, but the focus is always upon cooking is one of the few things that allows She is due to give birth to her first child
In addition, he will be teaching a course discovering the fundamental properties of him to completely separate from his work at the end of January. Until then, her big-
entitled “From Angels to Monsters: Cos- each relevant material. as he “becomes an engineer of cooking and gest challenge might just be learning how
mology, Anthropology, and the Ends of the Though he now focuses intensely on his forgets everything else.” Andrade is also a to drive, a skill that was never necessary in
World,” which will culminate in a study of current field of work, his aspirations as a jogger and an avid racquetball player. her former residencies.
James Cameron’s Avatar. child were in a slightly different vein. An- Professor Andrade is excited to be Professor Agranov will be teaching
Professor Wey-Gomez enjoys swimming drade was born in the capitol of Ecuador brought into the Caltech culture and will be PS132, a course on formal theories in po-
and restaurant scouting, and has recently and grew up watching his father work as a teaching Statics and Dynamics (ME 035) litical science, and SS210, a political eco-
decided to take up hiking. civil engineer. He grew to love his father’s this year. nomics class.
The CALIFORNIA TeCh Feature oCtober 13, 2010 5
Benjamin Ryan Patterson Christopher
Gillen Hunter
Picture Unavailable
At the age of 16, Professor Hunter had
already begun to prepare himself for a
career in physics. However, after some
thought following a summer program at
MIT he decided instead that he would pre-
fer to study English. As such, the LA native
It was during an art project in elemen- made the cross-country trip to Boston to at-
tary school that Professor Gillen first de- tend Harvard. Four years later, in 2002, he
veloped an interest in Economics: he found continued on to the University of Pennsyl-
the newspaper that he was working on top vania to receive his PhD.
of more interesting than the project itself. Nonetheless, Professor Hunter still held
Growing up in rural Wisconsin with his a spot in his heart for tech schools and
grandparents as his closest neighbors, he their students’ analytical thinking. During
might not have had much of an opportunity his summers at Harvard, and even after he
to study the global market; however, his went on to graduate school, he continued to
father encouraged his interest, even getting Ryan Patterson is a new Assistant requires a large amount of collaboration
teach English to MIT students.
him a computer so that the young Profes- Professor of Physics in the Department and “big machines”, so he sought out a
After 12 years on the East Coast, though,
sor Gillen could model his first regression of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. group with smaller-scale projects with less
Professor Hunter was ready to return to Los
of corn prices. Though he may be a newcomer to potential for disruptive bureaucracy. That
Angeles. Knowing its reputation for stellar
After high school, Professor Gillen head- professorship, Patterson is no newcomer being said, his current project involving
academics and its wide degree of research
ed to Connecticut to attend Yale University. to Caltech. He attended Caltech as an the study of neutrinos has around 140
freedom, he decided to come to Caltech.
While there, though he studied economics undergraduate and, following a PhD at people working on various facets of it.
Though he follows many of the same
intensively, he also cultivated an interest in Princeton University, returned to Caltech In his small amount of free time, Patterson
methods as scientific researchers, Pro-
theatre. Although Professor Gillen was not for his post doc. occupies himself with non-fiction books;
fessor Hunter’s research is certainly not
the best actor or set designer, he had a keen Patterson’s interest in Caltech began various sports including ultimate Frisbee,
something that most Techers are used to.
eye for management. As such, he worked when he was a high school student in tennis, and basketball; board games that
His thesis dealt with the history of the book
as the producer for three different plays. Mississippi. “I remember looking through involve strategy; and playing the guitar.
in America, particularly early biographies
Finally, Professor Gillen headed to the the brochure,” he reminisced. “I remember While he was an undergraduate at Caltech
such as those about Benjamin Franklin.
West Coast to attend graduate school at the getting the sense that it was a bunch of Patterson actually secured three musical
Currently, Professor Hunter is focusing on
University of California at San Diego. He people who liked thinking and learning.” gigs with a group of friends, but these
the history of autograph collecting in the
received his PhD in 2010, and in the same He wasn’t disappointed when he arrived, days his schedule does not allow time for
early 19th century.
year was recruited by Caltech as an Assis- and he embraced the camaraderie he performances.
During the second and third terms, Pro-
tant Professor of Economics. As Professor found here. His decision to return was Patterson noted he can’t imagine having
fessor Hunter will be teaching a freshman
Gillen puts it, his choice to come to Caltech based on the abundance of collaboration any job that doesn’t provide him with an
humanities course on the Renaissance, as
was mainly due to its “unparalleled” em- in research and the potential to work with intellectual challenge like his current one
well as a course on freedom of expres-
phasis on creativity. As an economist high caliber students and faculty in his does. Whether he is teaching or working
sion during the 20th century. Although
whose research spans many fields, Profes- field. Patterson knew that Caltech was in the lab the “problem you’re solving that
this leaves little time for leisure, Professor
sor Gillen was also drawn by the freedom filled with people off of whom he could day is always different” and that dynamic
Hunter prefers to relax with a little cook-
to pursue his varied interests. bounce ideas, and he also knew that structure is what keeps him going.
ing, and also enjoys fly-fishing and hiking.
While Professor Gillen’s research in- Caltech’s administrators would be more Professor Patterson will be co-teaching
volves a number of specialized fields in than happy to allow him to indulge his Physics 2b later this year.
economics, his main interests are econo- passion for teaching.
metrics, financial economics, and indus- A self-described “reductionist at heart,”
trial organization. He will be teaching an Patterson works in the field of particle Long Kai is the assistant professor of
investments course during the 2nd quarter, physics out of an interest to see how Chemistry, and another new hire this
as well as a graduate course on economet- things work at their very core. His field school year. He was unable to be reached
rics. for this feature.
Though time is scarce, Professor Gillen
tries to surf every weekend. He also enjoys
going to concerts in LA and is considering
picking up rock climbing again.
Write for the Tech.
We pay up to $30 for news articles.
email tech@caltech.edu
6 oCtober 13, 2010 news The CALIFORNIA TeCh
Announcements
SURF seminar day until January 3, 2011 to submit
your nomination package to the
California, 91125. Nomination
packages are due by January 3,
google.com/viewform?formkey
=dGFXT1hzV005V3E1T2xjUn-
Caltech Summer Provost’s Office to honor a pro- 2011. ZvUFV0Tmc6MQ
Undergraduate Research fessor who demonstrates, in the Additional information in-
Fellowship (SURF) students broadest sense, unusual ability, cluding guidelines for the prize Last day to add courses
present their research all day creativity, and innovation in un- and FAQ may be found at http://
at SURF Seminar Day this dergraduate and graduate class- provost.caltech.edu/Feynman- Friday, October 15th is the
Saturday, October 16 from 9:00 room or laboratory teaching. TeachingPrize. Further informa- last day to add courses and re-
am - 5:00 pm. All members The Feynman Prize is made tion can also be obtained from move conditions and incom-
of the Caltech community are possible through the generos- Karen Kerbs (626-395-6039; pletes. Turn in your yellow ad
invited to watch presentations ity of Ione and Robert E. Para- kkerbs@caltech.edu) or Stacey slips by 5pm to registrar!
for free. Those that wish to dise, with additional contribu- Scoville (626-395-6320; stac-
attend the Seminar Day but tions from an anonymous local eys@caltech.edu) in the Pro- Fleming Frosh Party
are not presenting can register couple. Nominations for the vost’s Office.
at San Pasqual Mall the day Feynman Teaching Prize are
Fleming frosh throws Cave
of, or through a link sent via a welcome from faculty, students, Caltech Y’s Explore Party in the Fleming courtyard
Caltech Directory email earlier postdoctoral scholars, staff, and LA: Galazy Soccer this Saturday October 16th
this week. The full schedule alumni.
All professorial faculty of 10pm-2am. Dress neanderthal
and presenter abstracts are The Caltech Y is organizing /caveman style, like the flint-
available through www.surf. the Institute are eligible. The a trip to the LA Galaxy game
prize consists of a cash award of stones.
caltech.edu/seminarday on October 16, 2010 vs. the
$3,500, matched by an equiva- Colorado Rapids. The game is
lent raise in the annual salary of scheduled to start at 7:30pm at
the awardee. A letter of nomina- the Home Depot Center. The
Nominate favorite tion and detailed supporting ma- tickets are in the south endline
professor for Feynman terial, including, but not limited and are $20 each. This event is
teaching prize to, a curriculum vitae, course part of the Caltech Y’s Explore
syllabus or description, and sup- LA series. The next event will
Here’s your chance to nomi- porting recommendation letters be a Halloween Shopping trip to
nate your favorite professor for should be directed to the Feyn- Melrose Avenue on Oct 23.
the 2010-11 Richard P. Feyn- man Prize Selection Committee, Lottery signups end on
man Prize for Excellence in Office of the Provost, Mail Code Monday, October 11
206-31, at the California Insti-
News Briefs
Teaching! You have from now 5:00 pm: https://spreadsheets.
tute of Technology, Pasadena,
Number of companies Library purchases
at Caltech’s Fall Career
log, go to Advanced Search. En-
ter the name of the composer in
classical music CDs the “any field” box and select
“RCDGS, MUSICAL” in the ma-
Caltech Library Services en-
Fair increase
terial type field.
hanced its collection of music
this summer with the purchase
of several hundred CDs. Mahler, Professor Vreeland
Wagner, Schubert, Puccini, Verdi, passes away
Brahms, Mozart, and Beethoven
are just a few of the composers Thad Vreeland Jr., emeritus pro-
By Rick Paul and we’ve invited some compa- deadline. represented. Purchasing boxed fessor of materials science at the
nies who have recruited here in Five companies have been put
Staff WritEr sets and then breaking them up California Institute of Technol-
previous years to come back,” on the waitlist due to space limi- enabled the library to expand its ogy (Caltech), passed away Au-
said Mandy Casani, the assistant tations, due to a change in loca-
Roughly eighty companies have holdings without straining its gust 9 in San Gabriel, California.
director of the Caltech Career tion from Bechtel Mall to Brown
registered for Caltech’s 2010 Fall budget. Noel Swerdlow, Visiting He was 85 years old. Vreeland—
Development Center and head or- Gym. The move was made to
Career Fair on October 26. This Associate in Humanities, kindly a member of Caltech’s materials
ganizer of the career fair. Casani avoid the fickle October weather,
represents a drastic increase over assisted the library in making science program from its earliest
has also drawn from her previous which was responsible for raining
the fifty-six companies that at- its selections. “We found some days—was best known for his
campus contacts at USC, where out last year’s event.
tended last year’s 2010 Winter fabulous CDs at fabulous prices, studies of the mechanical prop-
she served as assistant director Students can post their resume
Career Fair, as fears of a double all on Amazon. I think library pa- erties of materials, with an em-
of the Ph.D. program at Marshall for companies at the Career Fair
dip economic recession have less- trons will be absolutely delight- phasis on how severely stressed
Business School before coming through NACElink, the campus-
ened. ed.” Tom Neenan, Lecturer in materials deform plastically and
to Caltech. wide online recruiting system.
“We did some outreach earlier Music, is pleased for his students: permanently.
“The response from recruit-
this fall to encourage employers “Caltech students will find some Vreeland was born in 1924 and
ers has been outstanding.” Ac-
that haven’t previously recruited real gems. I will be telling all my was a lifelong member of the
cording to Casani, ten companies
at Caltech to attend the career fair classes about these additions.” Caltech community, receiving his
registered after the October 1st
The collection is housed in the BS in 1949, his MS in 1950, and
basement of Dabney library. To his PhD in 1952.
view holdings in the library cata-
Earn your degree in
education in 12–18 months.
With more than 36 credential and master’s degree opportunities,
we’re confident we have a program for you.
APU offers:
• Convenient classes at 8 Southern California locations and online.
• Programs in teaching, counseling, physical education, and
administration.
• NCATE-accredited programs recognized by all 50 states
and internationally.
• Resources that make transferring to APU a seamless process.
Classes start five times throughout the year. Contact us today!
Call (800) 825-5278
Click www.apu.edu/explore/education
Email graduatecenter@apu.edu
AZUSA | HIGH DESERT | INLAND EMPIRE | LOS ANGELES | MURRIETA
ORANGE COUNTY | SAN DIEGO | VENTURA COUNTY | ONLINE
11209
The CALIFORNIA TeCh spOrts oCtober 13, 2010 7
Mendoza’s hat trick lifts LaVerne over Caltech
By Rick Paul
SportS Editor
Photo by Radka Dancikova.
Nahavi Mentoza scored three goals to
lead La Verne to a 5-0 victory over Caltech in
SCIAC action.
With the win, La Verne improves to 3-5-1
overall and 3-3 in SCIAC play while Caltech
moves to 1-6 and 1-5, respectively.
Taylor Hart scored the first goal for La
Verne. Mendoza added two and three less than
a minute apart. Mario Cisneros kicked in the
fourth goal for La Verne in the 77th minute.
Mendoza finished off his hat trick with less
than four minutes remaining in the match.
La Verne had a 12-3 edge in shots on goal
and a 2-1 advantage in corners.
Vishnu Manoranjan goes in for a corner in Caltech’s loss to LaVerne.
Whittier defeats Caltech 3-0
Upcoming Schedule By Rick Paul
SportS Editor
October 12, 2010 Whittier, Calif. - Whittier defeated Caltech 3-0 in
women’s volleyball action. They tallied 49 total
Women’s Volleyball digs and 7.5 team blocks.
vs. La Verne
7:30 PM postponed from 9/28/10 The win raised Whittier to a 2-13 record overall
and 1-5 in the conference, and the loss dropped
October 13, 2010 Caltech to 1-10 and 0-6, respectively.
Men’s Soccer For Whittier, Alyssa Acosta recorded 15 digs,
vs. Cal Lutheran Lindsey Kish added 10 digs, Courtney Dickerson
4:00 PM had two block solos and three block assists in
addition to seven kills.
October 16, 2010
Paige Logan and Teri Juarez each had five
Cross Country kills and Ying Ying Tran recorded 10 digs for the
at SCIAC Multi Duals at La Mirada Park Beavers.
8:30 am
Men’s Water Polo
at Cal Lutheran
11:00 AM
Weekly Scoreboard
Men’s Water Polo
vs. Mercyhurst @ Cal Lutheran
3:00 PM
Men’s Soccer
vs. Redlands
4:00 PM October 11, 2010
Women’s Volleyball Men’s Soccer
at La Sierra vs. Soka
7:30 PM L, 3-0 Final
October 17, 2010 October 9, 2010
Men’s Water Polo Men’s Water Polo
vs. Chapman vs. Wash. & Jeff. @ Convergence Tournament
4:00 PM L, 22-17 Final
October 18, 2010 Men’s Water Polo
vs. Harvard @ Claremont, Calif.
Men’s Soccer L, 21-2 Final Claremont Convergence
at Claremont-M-S
4:00 PM Men’s Soccer
at Occidental
October 19, 2010 L, 2-1 Final
Women’s Volleyball October 8, 2010
at Claremont-M-S
7:30 PM Women’s Volleyball
vs. Cal Lutheran
L, 3-0 Final
8 The CALIFORNIA TeCh HumOr oCtober 13, 2010
Chess Club Problem of the Week
by Alexandra Souverneva
White to play and win. Composed by Emmanuel
Lasker, who was world champion from 1894 to 1921.
Last week’s solution” 1. Nh5+ Rxh5 2. Rxg6+ Kxg6 3. Re6#
The Caltech Chess Club meets Fridays 8-11 PM in Page House Dining Hall and is open to all
members of the Caltech Community
The California Tech
Caltech 40-58
Pasadena, CA 91125