Updates for Caltech neighbors

The Resnick Sustainability Center (architectural rendering above courtesy Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign) is taking shape on the west side of campus. As the building rises, we deepen our focus on sustainability, a research priority at Caltech since the 1940s.

Three days into the year, we celebrated the launch of the Transporter-6 mission, which carried a prototype developed on campus called the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD). The prototype is testing components of a transformative plan to collect sunlight in space, transform the light into electricity, and then wirelessly transmit that electricity to Earth, providing solar power 24/7 and in any weather.

The SSPD builds on a tradition of extraordinary advances in sustainability: More than 50 years ago, Caltech scholars and alumni built the first device to precisely measure carbon dioxide levels in air, traced smog and lead pollution to vehicle emissions, converted a 1958 Volkswagen bus into an electric vehicle, and converted a1972 Buick Skylark into a gas-EV hybrid.

More recently, Caltech chemists have enabled greener medicines, detergents, and materials. Just in the last year, researchers demonstrated how to arrange wind turbines to produce more energy, discovered that coastal ocean currents could be speeding up antarctic ice melt, and hosted a conference that gathered leaders in engineering, science, industry, and government to chart a path toward cutting U.S. global warming gas emissions. On campus, Caltech is taking steps to improve its energy efficiency and replace turf with climate-adapted landscaping.

If sustainability is an interest of yours, please visit Caltech's sustainability site. The launch of the SSPD is the first of several important developments anticipated this year.

Neighbors, you are welcome at events on campus that are open to the community. Of special note, the Watson Lectures, which so many of you have enjoyed, turn 100 this year. We hope you enjoy the special centennial series of Watson Lectures.

Learn more about Caltech's COVID-19 response and research into even more broadly protective vaccines.

If you would like to ask a question, share a comment, and/or be added to our list for occasional emails (a few per year), please email neighbor@caltech.edu. Neighbors are also welcome to subscribe to The Caltech Weekly, an email newsletter that highlights the most relevant research, news, and events at Caltech as well as the individuals who are advancing the boundaries of discovery. You can unsubscribe anytime.