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The campus community biweekly June 2, 2005, vol. 5, no. 11 Crawl this way Andromeda: a gift that keeps giving

The lovely Andromeda galaxy appeared as a warm fuzzy blob to the ancients. To modern astronomers millennia later, it appeared as an excellent opportunity to better understand the universe. In the lat­ ter regard, our nearest galactic neighbor is a gift that keeps on giving. Caltech postdoctoral researcher Scott Chapman and Rodrigo lbata of the Ob­ servatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg in France have led a team of astronomers in mapping the detailed motions of stars on Andromeda's outskirts. Their recent Bob, meet Alice observations with the Keck Telescopes show that the tenuous sprinkle of stars "We Went! We Raced! We Ate Barbed extending outward from the galaxy is Wire!" stated Team Caltech's unabash­ actually part of the main disk itself. This edly honest website headline on the per­ means that the spiral disk of Andromeda formance of the truck "Bob" in last year's is three times larger in diameter than DARPA Grand Challenge road race. previously estimated. The race from L.A. to Las Vegas called At the annual summer meeting of the for a completely autonomous vehicle {no American Astronomical Society on May driver or remote conrroJ) that could.trave..._~ ... 30, Chapman outlined evidence of a vast, 142 miles over dirt trails and open desert extended stellar disk that makes the gal­ in 10 hours or less. Bob went about 1.3 axy more than 220,000 light-years in di­ miles before getting tangled in barbed ameter. Previously, astronomers thought wire. The farthest any entry got was 7.4 Andromeda was about 70,000 to 80,000 miles. light-years across. Andromeda itself is Enter" Alice," the new vehicle from about 2 million light-years from Earth. Team Caltech 2005-a group of under­ The new dimensional measure is grads, grad students, and faculty ad­ Ditch Day stacks posed physical as well as mental challenges to teams. of ~altech freshmen,_ . based on the motions of about 3,000 of visers-that will compete this year on Sophomores and 1·uniors trying to solve them. Whether it meant sloshmg 1n pools or engagmg In water-balloon' fights, the students were game. In th1s· stac k , a mem b e r of the Ocean's 11 team craw 1s the stars some distance from the disk October 8. "We are light-years ahead under a rope net, boot-camp style. Ditch Day took place on May 17 · that were once thought to be merely the with Alice with respect to where we were "halo" of stars in the region and not part last year at the same point with Bob," of the disk itself. By taking very careful says project manager Richard Murray, measurements of the "radial velocities," a professor of control and dynamical Of JPL and javelin How the brain the researchers were able to determine systems, and the chair of the Division of precisely how each star was moving in Engineering and Applied Science. That propulsion relation to the galaxy. is wired for sex may explain why Alice sports the license The results showed that the outlying plate, "I 8 Bob." Speeding down a track runway with a stars are sitting in the plane of the An­ The DARPA {Defense Advanced Re­ Two brain structures a mouse just can't javelin in her hand, Kristen Zortman '05 dromeda disk itself and, moreover, are search Projects Agency) Grand Chal­ do without when hooking up with its probably doesn't fit many people's image moving at a velocity that shows them to lenge is intended to hasten the research dream mate-and trying not to become of a rocket scientist. be in orbit around the center of the galaxy. and development of driverless ground lunch for the neighborhood cat-are the In fact, the 22-year-old senior is both see Andromeda, page 6 amygdala and hypothalamus. The former vehicles that could be used to transport a track-and-field star and a future rocket is involved in the initial response to cues supplies or soldiers on the front lines. scientist. Last weekend, while waiting to According to Joel Burdick, a professor of that signal love or war, while the latter hear whether she'll land her dream job at coordinates innate reproductive or defen­ mechanical engineering and bioengineer­ JPL, Zortman was hurling the javelin at ing and a technical adviser, the technol­ sive behaviors triggered by these cues. the NCAA Division Ill track-and-field na­ Now, neuroscientists have traced out ogy may also have future ramifications tional championship in Waverly, Iowa. the wiring between the amygdala and hy­ Grant will fund for automobile design, especially for The first Caltech undergrad to com­ disabled drivers, and for space explora­ pothalamus, and may have identified the pete in the nationals in nearly a decade, study of autism genes involved in laying down the wiring tion. Zortman placed 14th in a field of 19. Al­ With a $2 million first prize, the race itself. The researchers have also gained though she would have liked to do better, One of the classic symptoms of autism is open to individuals and organizations. an understanding of how the circuitry she notes that she rose several notches is difficulty in interpreting other people's works to make behavioral decisions, such Like last year, the exact route won't be from her entry ranking {18th). And any emotions. Caltech professor of psychol­ announced until two hours before the as when a mouse is confronted simulta­ disappointment she felt was offset by the ogy and neuroscience Ralph Adolphs neously with an opportunity to reproduce start. sheer excitement of being there, as well has received a $120,000 grant from the Bob, the 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV and an imminent threat. as the support from family, friends, and foundation Cure Autism Now to study used last year, has been replaced by a In the May 19 issue of the journal strangers. how autistic patients process information Ford E-350 van customized by Sportsmo­ Neuron, David Anderson, Caltech's Sperry "I really enjoyed it," she says, describ­ about other people's facial expressions. bile, a company specializing in 4x4 vehi­ Professor of Biology and a Howard Hughes ing the stadium packed with cheering The award will supplement Adolphs's cles. A six-liter diesel engine allows Alice Medical institute investigator, his graduate spectators and having "so many experi­ ongoing work to understand the role of to idle for long periods with low fuel student Gloria Choi, and colleagues Hong­ ences that I wouldn't have anywhere the amygdala, a structure in the brain, in wei Dong and Larry Swanson {USC) and consumption. Special hardware on the else." She was "a little nervous" step­ certain disorders. Andrew Murphy, David Valenzuela, and bumper and roof holds various sensors ping onto the runway: "I looked out on There is tantalizing evidence that the that serve as "eyes." Inside is a complete see Brain, page 2 challenge for autistic persons may not see Zortman, page 6 see Alice, page 6 see Autism, page 2 2 Caltech 336, June 2, 2005

Chen, Hummel win Brain, from page 1 George Yancopoulos (Regeneron Pharma­ Ford Awards ceuticals) describe their discovery that the NewsBriefs neural pathway between the amygdala and Winners of Henry Ford II Scholar Awards hypothalamus thought to govern repro­ this year are Yang Chen and Patrick Hum­ ductive behaviors is marked by a gene with mel. the unromantic name of Lhx6. Yang Chen is a junior in electrical engi­ To confirm their work, the research­ neering. In his two years at Caltech, Chen ers checked the suspected neurons has concentrated his research activities when the mice were sexually aroused. on the design of analog circuits, com­ In male mice, the smell of female mouse puter vision recognition systems, and urine containing pheromones is a sexual microprocessor-based systems. A trans­ stimulus, evoking such behaviors as fer student from Tsinghua University in ultrasonic vocalization, a sort of "court­ Beijing, Chen was the first-prize winner ship song." Therefore, the detection of of that institution's Freshman Scholar­ neural pathway activity when the mouse ship. He was also a Gold Medal recipient smelled the pheromones was the give­ in the 3rd Asian Physics Olympiad, held away. in Singapore, and the 33rd International The idea that Lhx6 actually speci- Physics Olympiad, held in Bali. fies the pathway wiring is still based on Patrick Hummel, a junior in applied inference, because when the research­ and computational mathematics, was ers knocked out the gene, the mutation selected as a freshman for a merit-based caused mouse embryos to die of other Axline Award. He has authored and co­ causes too early to detect an effect on authored seven papers in biology, chem­ brain wiring. But the Lhx6 gene encodes istry, game theory, and mathematics. a transcription factor in a family of genes Hummel is currently working on detailed that are known to control the pathfind­ theoretical projects in noncooperative ing of axons-tiny wires that jut out from game theory and in inorganic spectrosco­ neurons and send messages to other py. He is a founder of the Caltech Chess neurons. Club and is a past winner of the U.S. Na­ The pathway between the amygdala The Institute welcomed hundreds of alumni and their families back for the tional High School Chess Championship. and hypothalamus involved in danger Alumni Reunion Weekend May 19-21, and Seminar Day, which took place on He hails from Las Vegas, Nevada. avoidance appears to be marked by other May 21. Visitors learned about advances in various fields of research, partook The Henry Ford II Scholar Awards are genes, Lhx9 and Lhx5, in the same fam­ of meals and barbecues, and caught up with professors and former classmates. funded under an endowment provided ily. However, the function of these circuits by the Ford Motor Company Fund. Each is not as clear, because a test involving annual award, which can total $5,000, is smells to confirm the pathways was made to the Caltech undergraduate engi­ more ambiguous than the one involving Cassini mission team, which is investigating neering student with the best academic sexual attraction. The smell of a cat did Personals the mysteries of Saturn's moon Titan. Elachi record at the end of the third year of received his bachelor's degree at the University of not clearly light up Lhx9- or Lhx5-positive study, or to the engineering grad student Welcome to Caltech Grenoble in 1968 and his Caltech PhD in electrical cells. Nevertheless, the fact that those engineering in 1971, the same year he began with the best first-year record. cells are found in brain regions impli­ April working for Caltech/JPL. • cated in defensive behaviors suggests they might be involved in other forms of Visitors Misato Fukagawa, in astronomy, and ldoia Gimferrer, in biology. behaviors, such as aggression between male mice. May Media minute Autism, from page 1 The researchers also located the brain be entirely an inability to read facial ex­ area in the hypothalamus where a cir­ Maria Aguirre, host, Athenaeum; David Ardila, Professor of Mathematics and Executive Officer pressions, but rather the lack of ability or cuit-overriding mechanism exists when staff scientist, Spitzer Science Center; Diana for Mathematics Gary Lorden discusses his role a mouse is exposed both to a potential Autrey, administrative assistant, chemistry as a consultant to the Numbers television series inclination to focus on faces so that expres­ and chemical engineering; Gloria Bain, in the "Insider" section of TV Guide Online. The sions can be processed. Better knowledge mate and to danger. The layout of axons administrative assistant, control and dynamical article, "Math Whiz Crunches TV's Numbers," by of how people with autism look at faces in the wiring shows that, in such a situa­ systems; Rachel Berquist, postdoctoral scholar Mark Nollinger, begins, "Though they look like could result in interventions that coach tion, a mouse is clearly hardwired to get in mechanical engineering; Haixia Huang, scribble-scrabble to the uninitiated, the equations patients to concentrate their attention on out of harm's way. The researchers' pre­ research technician associate, biology; Jun-Bae Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) solves on CBS' diction was also behaviorally confirmed. Hong, postdoctoral scholar in chemistry; Steve FBI crime-drama Numbers are real. Mathemati­ facial expressions, ultimately helping them Meine!, system administrator, Administrative cian Gary Lorden makes sure of it." Lorden, who improve their social functioning. Mice are known to freeze or hide when Technology Center; Arindam Samanta, visitor reads the scripts to ensure that the math termi­ The two-year pilot research award will they sense danger, and when exposed in geology; Ariel Shoresh, administrative nology and usage are correct, and also provides first fund a close study of how subjects to cat odor and female urine simulta­ assistant, geological and planetary sciences; the numerical formulas, describes the challenge view faces, followed the second year neously, the male mice stopped their Diana Stefanescu, postdoctoral scholar in of striving to remain technically accurate without pheromone-induced "singing." "So the environmental science and engineering; Harald being either too arcane or too simplistic. Speak­ with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance Stoegbauer, postdoctoral scholar in biology; ing from his personal experience in classified imaging) research using Caltech's new asymmetry in the cross talk suggests that Mara Sweet, associate director of foundation research on terrorism, he also confirms the no­ scanners. the system is prioritized for survival first, relations, Development and Alumni Relations; tion that his field has been at the heart of real­ "If our hypotheses are supported, the mating second," Anderson says. Chiara Vanni, assistant research technician, Laser life crime-fighting for years, and says that he's implications might be dramatic for re­ Anderson believes similarities are like­ Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. become "a sort of local hero" to students happy ly in humans, as mice and humans both about math's newfound prime-time status. Num­ habilitation," Adolphs says. "In a sense, bers airs on Fridays at 10 p.m. on CBS. Visit we could be helping people with autism have these brain structures, "and we, like www.tvguide.com/news/insider/050427c.asp to see the world socially by telling them mice, are likely to have some hardwired (registration required). specifically how to look at the world with circuits for reproductive behavior and for Honors and awards their eye movements." defense," he says. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience, Emeritus, However, humans can also con­ Jacqueline Barton, Hanisch Memorial Professor Seymour Benzer is featured in the May 27 issue Founded in 1995, Cure Autism Now is and professor of chemistry, has received an of the L.A. Weekly. "What the Doctor Orders," in an organization comprising parents, clini­ sciously override the hardwired circuitry. honorary doctor of science degree from Yale the newspaper's "Counter Intelligence" restau­ cians, and leading scientists committed to For example, two teenagers in an amo­ University. Barton joined Caltech as professor rant review section, mentions the highlights of accelerating the pace of autism research. rous embrace in a theater can ignore an of chemistry in 1989 and was named Hanisch Benzer's research career, particularly his current Since its beginning, the organization has on-screen monster. In real-life circum­ Professor in 1997. She received her AB from work on the relationship of genes and dietary stances, they would more likely postpone Barnard College in 1974 and her PhD from preference. Reviewer Jonathan Gold describes committed more than $23 million to re­ Columbia University in 1978, and she has his happiness at "learning that a great biologist search, outreach, and education efforts. the groping until they were out of danger. received honorary degrees from the New Jersey has spent even a small amount of his time geneti­ • "We obviously have the conscious ability Institute, Kenyon College, and Skidmore College. cally manipulating fruit flies to enjoy wasabi and to interrupt the circuit-overriding mecha­ hot chile," and mentions Benzer's attempts to find nism, to see if the threat is really impor­ Charles Elachi, Caltech vice president, director a particular shrimp dish in local Sichuan Chinese tant," Anderson says. of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and professor restaurants. "He once put an order of the shrimp of electrical engineering and planetary science, under his lab microscope, attempting to isolate • has been honored with a Laureates Hall of Fame the secret ingredient," which the professor be­ Award at Aviation Week and Space Technology's lieves may have been cardamom. Although they 48th Annual Aerospace Laurels Awards. don't have the dish, Benzer nonetheless recom­ Honorees are nominated by the editors of the mends the Lucky Dragon restaurant in Monterey aerospace magazine for "extraordinary individual Park. "The restaurant is good," he is quoted as and team accomplishments in the global saying. He adds, however, "Stay away from the aviation, aerospace and defense industries." duck with dried tulips." Visit www.laweekly. The award recognizes Elachi's leadership of the com/ink/05/27/counter-gold.php. Mars Exploration Rover program, whose team is searching for signs of life on Mars, and of the Autistic people may lack the ability or inclination to focus on faces so that expressions can be processed. the acad em ic week at Ca It ec h is a printed version of selected events from the online master calendar. http://today.caltech.edu/calendar. To publish events online, register as an event planner on the Caltech Today calendar. If unable to submit electronically, please call (626) 395-3630. For further information or a schedule of deadlines, call (626) 395-3630, fax (626) 449-2159, write 336 Calendar, 1-71,

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, or e-mail [email protected]. June 6-19,2005 1- u. en en

Tuesday, June 7 Thesis Seminar 147 Noyes, Sturdivant Lecture Hall, Carnegie Observatories Colloquium 5:30 p.m.-"The Development of Series Organocatalytic Reactions Pertaining to William T. Golden Auditorium, 813 Santa lndoles," Joel Austin, graduate student Barbara Street, 3:30 to 5 p.m.-"RCS in chemistry, Caltech. Clusters: Three Years of Follow-up," Mike Gladders, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Friday, June 10 Refreshments, 3:30 p.m. Commencement Beckman Mall, 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 8

Astronomy Colloquium Tuesday, June 14 155 Arms, Robert Sharp Lecture Hall, 4 p.m.-"Biack Holes in Galaxy Carnegie Observatories Colloquium Mergers," Lars Hernquist, professor of Series astronomy, Harvard-Smithsonian Center William T. Golden Auditorium, 813 Santa for Astrophysics. Barbara Street, 3:30 to 5 p.m.-Topic and speaker to be announced. Refreshments, Organic Chemistry Seminar 3:30p.m. 147 Noyes, Sturdivant Lecture Hall, 4 p.m.-"Crystallization in Two and Thursday, June 16 Three Dimensions," Professor Adam Matzger, department of chemistry, A Chandra X-ray Observatory data simulation sequence (from left to right and top Von Karman Lecture Series to bottom) begins with two galaxies that are about to merge. The two distinct University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. JPL, von Karman Auditorium, 7 p.m.­ point sources in the Chandra data are proof to scientists that two black holes are " A Bipolar Year: What We Can Learn at the center of the newly formed galaxy. (Simulation: Josh Barnes, University of Hawaii/John Hibbard, NRAO; X-ray: NASA/CXC/MPE/5. Komossa et al.) "Black About Looking for Life on Other Planets Thursday, June 9 Holes in Galaxy Mergers" will be the subject of the Astronomy Colloquium on from Working in Cold Deserts on Our Wednesday, June 8. ESE & Society Discussion Group Own," Dr. Pamela Conrad, research 151 Arms, Buwalda Room, 9 a.m.­ scientist, JPL. Discussion groups are held on Thursday mornings from 9 to 10. Refreshments. Friday, June 17

Thesis Seminar Von Karman Lecture Series 151 Crellin, 1 p.m.-"Chelating N­ Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado, Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands for Group the Vosloh Forum (south of Colorado 10 Ethylene Polymerization Catalysts: on Bonnie), 7 p.m.-" A Bipolar Year: Toward the Incorporation of Polar What We Can Learn About Looking for Comonomers," Andrew Waltman, Life on Other Planets from Working in graduate student in chemistry, Caltech. Cold Deserts on Our Own," Dr. Pamela Conrad, research scientist, JPL. Herbert Newby McCoy Award Seminar 153 Noyes, Sturdivant Lecture Hall, 3:30 p.m.-"Coordination Chemistry from Trigonally Coordinated Iron Platforms: Chemistry Relevant to Dinitrogen Reduction," Theodore Betley, graduate student in chemistry, Caltech.

Herbert Newby McCoy Award Seminar 153 Noyes, Sturdivant Lecture Hall, 4 p.m.-"The Total Synthesis of Dragmacidins D and F," Neil Garg, graduate student in chemistry, Caltech.

Herbert Newby McCoy Award Seminar 153 Noyes, Sturdivant Lecture Hall, 4:30 p.m.-" Development of Tools for Studying Learning and Memory with Unnatural Amino Acids," E. James Petersson, graduate student in chemistry, Caltech. CampusEvents

Monday, June 6 Tuesday, June 14 Lunchtime Pickup Ultimate Frisbee Mondays Fox Stanton Track and Field, 12:15 p.m.-The Lunchtime Pickup Ultimate Frisbee Caltech Penultimate Frisbee players make up an Changes and Trends in Today's English CEC Summer Program Sign-up Fox Stanton Track and Field, 12:15 p.m.-The informal recreational group that plays pickup Usage The Child Educational Center's exciting and edu­ Caltech Penultimate Frisbee players make up an games of Ultimate Frisbee at lunchtime on Mon­ Brown Gym classroom, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.­ cational summer program, for children entering informal recreational group that plays pickup days, Wednesdays, and Fridays. No experience This one-day program, for supervisors and non­ grades 1 through 7, will be held at two locations: games of Ultimate Frisbee at lunchtime on Mon­ is needed, and complete novices are welcome. supervisors, can help reduce your writing stress on Michigan Avenue at Caltech, and Oak Grove, days, Wednesdays, and Fridays. No experience Information: http://mailman.its.caltech.edu/pen­ and improve the clarity of your written commu­ near JPL in La Canada Flintridge. In August, a is needed, and complete novices are welcome. ultimate. nications. This practical, hands-on workshop is Performing Arts Camp will be introduced for Information: http://mailman.its.caltech.edu/ designed to provide you with a quick and easy children entering grades 3 through 7. In addition, penultimate. review of the current rules of good writing as before-and-after care will be offered for children they relate to your job. Registration: 395-8055 or attending summer school at Paradise Canyon Floorball Club [email protected]. Thursdays Elementary School, and there will be a pre­ Brown Gymnasium, 9 p.m.-Caltech Floorball kindergarten program at Oak Grove. Register Club holds pickup floorball games on Mondays Baby Furniture and Household Equipment today; call (818) 354-3418. from 9 to 11 p.m. 234 S. Catalina, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.-Loans of Amnesty International Letter Writing kitchen and household necessities and baby Athenaeum Rathskeller, 7:30 p.m.-Caltech/ furniture are made to members of the Caltech Pasadena AI Group 22 will host an informal and JPL communities. Open on Thursdays from meeting to write letters on human-rights Wednesday, June 8 Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointment is necessary. abuses around the world. All are welcome. Preschool Playgroup Information: 584-9773 or [email protected]. Caltech/JPL Toastmasters Club Meeting Refreshments. Information: (818) 354-4461 or Tournament Park, 10 a.m. to noon-Song and Building 167 conference room, JPL, 5:30p.m.­ [email protected]. Visit our website storytime, crafts and free play for toddlers and Enhance your speaking skills in a supportive and at www.its.caltech.edu/- aigp22. positive learning environment. The Toastmasters preschoolers (from walking to age 4). Sponsored Club meets every second and fourth Wednesday by the Caltech Women's Club. Open to Caltech/ Fridays of the month. Guests are welcome. If you are JPL community members only. Information: Lunchtime Pickup Ultimate Frisbee coming from outside JPL, please contact Frank 578-0890 or [email protected]. Fox Stanton Track and Field, 12:15 p.m.- The Maiwald, at (818) 687-9487, three days before the Thursday, June 16 Caltech Penultimate Frisbee players make up an event. Information: www.jplcaltechtoastmasters. CIT Knitters Group Meeting informal recreational group that plays pickup com. Health & Wellness: Advanced Care 256 Mudd Laboratory, South, noon-All level of games of Ultimate Frisbee at lunchtime on Mon­ Planning knitters and related handcrafters are welcome. days, Wednesdays, and Fridays. No experience Caltech Women's Center, noon-Advanced We make items for others and ourselves. Infor­ is needed, and complete novices are welcome. care planning is a process aimed at extending mation: 395-6905. Information: http://mailman.its.caltech.edu/ Thursday, June 9 the rights of individuals to guide their medical penultimate. How to Put "Steam" in Your Self-Esteem care through periods of decisional incapacity. Caltech Tai Chi Club Brown Gym classroom, 8:30a.m. to Patty Watson-Wood, a registered nurse at Hun­ Dabney lounge, 7:30 p.m.-Meets Tuesdays and Caltech Tai Chi Club 12:30 p.m.-In this workshop for supervisors tington Memorial Hospital, will explain how to Fridays weekly. Sessions are free. Information: www.its.caltech.edu/-taichi. Dabney lounge, 7 p.m.-Meets Tuesdays and and nonsupervisors, participants will learn translate your values into medical treatment, Fridays weekly. Sessions are free. Information: skills with which to better handle difficult maximize the likelihood that your care will www.its.caltech.edu/- taichi. situations, and will discover ways to build serve your goals, and reduce family conflicts. self-esteem. Registration: 395-8055 or diane. Registration: [email protected]. Caltech Chess Club [email protected]. Wednesdays Page House dining room, 8 p.m.-Be you master Wednesdays in the Park or novice, you will enjoy the chess club's weekly Tournament Park, 10 a.m. to noon-Every meetings. Reel Women's Film Series: Is Feminism Saturday, June 18 Wednesday there's conversation and coffee for Dead? parents and caregivers, and playtime and snacks Caltech Women's Center, noon-Years after Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum for children. Stop by and make new friends the women's movement burst open doors of Baxter Lecture Hall, 8 a.m. to noon-Join the from around the world. Open only to Caltech/ opportunity that had long been barred, a new Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum and the Software JPL community members. Sponsored by the generation of women seems to be question­ Council of Southern California for their annual Caltech Women's Club. Information: 791-4225 or ing the meaning and the value of the battles look at areas of software holding special entre­ mcsutton [email protected]. fought by their mothers and grandmothers. preneurial promise. The keynote speaker will be The film Is Feminism Dead? appraises the Peter Coffee, technology editor, eWeek. Informa­ women's movement as it currently exists and tion: www.entforum.caltech.edu. discusses its relevance in today's cultural Historian to speak on 1776 climate. CEC's 25th Birthday Dinner and 16th Annual Wine-Tasting Benefit The Child Educational Center's 25th birthday Renowned author and historian David A book signing will immediately fol­ dinner will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Caltech's Steele House. Tickets are $125 and McCullough will speak on campus on low the talk. Please note that the author include admission to the 16th annual wine­ Wednesday, June 22. Part of Caltech will sign one backlist title for every copy tasting benefit, which will take place on the same Public Events' Voices of Vision Series, of 1776 purchased, up to a maximum of evening from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Avery House. the lecture is free and open to the public, six books. Tickets for the wine tasting alone are $60 in ad­ and will begin at 8 p.m. in Beckman No tickets or reservations are required vance, or $70 at the door. Tickets for both events are available at the JPL Store, the Caltech Book Auditorium. for this event, which is presented in part­ Store, or the Child Educational Center. Informa­ McCullough will discuss his newest nership with Vroman's Bookstore. It is tion: (818) 354-3418. book, 1776, a riveting account of that cosponsored by the Caltech Employees year's hostilities between American and Federal Credit Union and the San Gabriel British forces. To show how an army of Valley Newspaper Group. Sunday, June 19 farmers under the unifying leadership of • George Washington defeated the world's Amnesty International Book Discussion greatest military power, he focuses on Group Vroman's Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, the harrowing fight during the momen­ second floor, 6:30 p.m.- This month's book is tous first 12 months of the war for Grace/and, by Chris Abani, the story of a teenage independence. Elvis impersonator hoping to make his way out Born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl­ of the ghetto in Lagos, Nigeria. All are welcome. vania, McCullough received a degree in Sponsored by Caltech/Pasadena AI Group 22. Public Events information Visit Group 22 at www.its.caltech.edu/-aigp22. English literature with honors from Yale. He has twice received the Pulitzer Prize­ and tickets in 1993 for Truman and in 2001 for John Adams, which entered the New York Contact 395-4652, 1 (888) 2CALTECH, or Ttmes best-seller list at number one and [email protected]. Individuals with a disabil­ remained on the list for more than a year. ity: 395-4688 (voice) or 395-3700 (TDD). Visit Public Events at www.events.caltech.edu. His other books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path Be­ tween the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, and Brave Companions. A lecturer, teacher, and public televi­ sion host as well as author, McCullough has narrated numerous documentaries, including The Civil War and Napoleon, as well as the feature film Seabiscuit. Caltech 336, June 2, 2005 5

Longtime Caltech employees recognized

Chick La.ckore came to the Owens Valley 10 years of service 15 years of service 20 years of service Radio Observatory (OVRO) in 1969 as Rich Abbott Samir Abi-Rached Bovan Bang a janitor. Pretty soon he made himself Ruby Bales Rosa Anguiano Jose Barrios indispensable in the machine shop. Ever Dino Barbiera Rudy Arvizu John Beckett since then, the Bishop, California, native John Baskin Michael Black Steve Benson has worked at the astronomical facility Divina Bautista Charmaine Boyd Lynn Bryant in the eastern Sierra Nevada, where his Bidushi Bhattacharya Corey Campbell Karen Carlson expertise as welder and fabricator has GariLynn Billingsley Paul Carroad Janet Couch proven critical to every major telescope James Blackburn Susie Clark Darryl Denning project undertaken there. Minerva Calderon AI Coleman Donna Driscoll But he modestly describes his fabrica­ Jose Cervera Manuel De La Torre Delmy Emerson tion work as making "bits and pieces" Kerry Coman Alberto Devora Anthony Guzman for the telescopes. "I've worked all my Roc Cutri Kitty Dua Shirley Hampton life, and I think if I sat down, I would Andrew Davis Sandra Durkee John Henning stick," quips Lackore, 65, one of two Ever De La Torre Susan Egerman Cliff Ho Caltech employees recognized on June Ramiro De La Torre Marianne Epalle Haick lssaian 1 for 35 years of dedicated service to the Rich Dekany Sandra Estes Dorothy Jennings Institute. Kathy Deniston Kerry Etheridge Kathy Kelly The 50th annual Staff Service Award Mamadou Diallo Steven Gould Daniel Lang Program celebrated the work of 202 Joe Drew Ronald Graham De Ann Lewis employees who were honored for 10 to Louise Foucher Blanca Granados Ya-Yun Liu 35 years of work, noted at five-year in­ Bob Gallagher Barbara Green Elisa Loeffen tervals. The event took place in Beckman Mark Garcia Suresha Guptha Barry Madore Auditorium and featured speaker Richard Andrew Gaston William Harris William McKinley Murray, professor of control and dynami­ Sylvie Gertmenian Oscar Hernandez Rosemary Miller cal systems and chair of the Division of Larry Gilbert Branislav Kecman Mehrdad Moshir Engineering and Applied Science. Sandra Harlan Jacob Kooi James Pendlay At OVRO, the largest university­ Anna Marie Hetman Exie Marie Leagons Rosetta Pillow operated radio observatory in the world, Ann Hilgenfeldt Jodie Lee John Rector colleagues say that Lackore has demon­ Anne Hormann Jan Lindheim Belinda Ross strated "exacting standards" in projects Viktor Hristov Victoria Lopez Patricia Somer including the new millimeter-wavelength Angelica Ibarra Erick Lopez Linda Syme array's assembly, baseline rail, and con­ Thomas Jarrett Valeria Mancino Gilbert 'Tiscareno crete work. And the machinist, whose Dexter Jeremiah Joseph Mazzarella Laurinda Truong work area is affectionately known as the Marisu Jimenez Purie Miklja Tony Valespino "chicken coop," was "loaned" to the Cheryl LaGue Roy Miller Khiem Van Du Caltech Submillimeter Observatory dur­ Albert Lazzarini Gita Patel Carole Wells ing telescope construction on Mauna Philip Lindquist Andrew Ransick Roy Williams Kea, Hawaii. He's currently working to Margaret Lindstrom Raul Resendiz move telescopes 13 miles uphill to a Christopher Malek Guillermina Robles 25 years of service 9,000-foot-elevation site for the Com­ Fran Manley Leslie Schenker Thomas Biesek bined Array for Research in Millimeter­ Carol Mann Cheryl Lynn Southard Priscilla Boon wave Astronomy (CARMA). CARMA's Cierina Marks Helen 'Ticehurst Phyllis Burton combined 15-telescope capabilities will Sue McHugh Donna Tomlinson Sharlene Cartier allow researchers to carry out studies of Sherri McKinney Juana Turcios Margaret Collins the formation of planets, stars, and gal­ Ann Miguel Bahram Valiferdowsi Tony Do axies, and of the large-scale structure of Joe Monaly Luis Vega John Dundas Ill the universe. Beth Moore Alvaro Velado Diane Engler Back on campus, 30-year employee Roger Murray Margo Villalobos Mike Gerfen Dave Spellman has made his own indel­ Debra Navarrete Kwanghsi Wang David Guerrero ible mark. In 1981 he took on the role of Jim O'Dea Jay Winkler Jack Guledjian stage manager at Beckman and Ramo Nick Oldark Peggy Winstanley Martha Gutierrez auditoriums-a position he still holds­ Carlton Potts Elizabeth Wood Mary Hoidahl smoothly orchestrating events starring Henry Riley Xiuqin Wu Ron Isaacs such artists as Vincent Price, Sarah lan Roberts Miki Yun Calvin Jackson, Jr. Vaughan, John Houseman, Marcel Janeen Romie Margoth Zamarripa Ed Jasnow Marceau, and Hal Holbrook. A gradu- Alan Rosenstein John Klemic ate of UCLA and a lighting and scenic Michael Roy Tess Legaspi designer for many area theater produc­ Viveca Sapin Catherine May tions, Spellman came to the Office of Allen Sibley Lori Merager Public Events in 1970, having passed Nancy Silbermann Bob Narron through Caltech a year earlier with a Chris Silva Ann Nelson-Wiegel touring production of Jules Feiffer's Little Renee Smith Judith Nollar Murders. Diana St. James Ricardo Paniagua He recalls, "My first paycheck from Linwood Tabata Alan Rice Caltech was a whopping $173.27. Eight Camilo Toribio Bob Sanders hundred and forty-one paychecks later, Chaozhi Wan Art Seiden I've reached the conclusion that the true Desheng Wang Sheila Shull rewards of working at Caltech are not Johnny Williams Jim Staub monetary, but experiential. The campus 'Tim Winiecki Sherry Wheelock staff and faculty are a great bunch of Rosario Zedan Chick Lackore people to work with. And although nu­ Anzhen Zhang 30 years of service merous equipment upgrades to the audi­ Sharon Borbon toriums have made my work easier over Stan Borodinsky the years, and scheduling adjustments lffat Khan have taken a big bite out of the 18- to Dave Spellman 20-hour days that were so common back Merle Sweet in the '70s and '80s, the icing on the cake Bob Turring has been the continued help and support from my coworkers in the Public Events 35 years of service Office." Chick Lackore In the Division of Chemistry and Bob Taylor Chemical Engineering, Priscilla Boon not only assists four division professors, but she also helps incoming students understand the open-door policy of the Bob Taylor see Service Awards, page 6 6 Caltech 336, June 2, 2005

Andromeda, from page 1 Alice, from page 1 In essence, this means that the disk is software lab, including a brain-seven vastly larger than previously known. Dell servers in temperature-controlled, Further, the researchers have deter­ shock-resistant housing-and four seats mined that the nature of the "inhomoge­ with harnesses that, during off-road test­ neous rotating disk"-in other words, the ing, strap students down enough to let clumpy and blobby outer fringes of the them use a computer keyboard. disk-shows that Andromeda must be the Although the team won't know offi­ result of satellite galaxies long ago slam­ cially until this month, presumably Alice ming together. If that were not the case, passed an important progress check in the stars would be more evenly spaced. May by DARPA officials, who will whittle lbata says, "This giant disk discovery will the 100-plus entries to 40. During the be very hard to reconcile with computer officials' visit to the Santa Anita racetrack simulations of forming galaxies. You just parking lot, Alice completed two course don't get giant rotating disks from the ac­ runs in about 45 seconds, but crunched cretion of small galaxy fragments." a trashcan in its third run and made an The current results, which are the unnecessary stop when it "thought" it subject of two papers already available spied an obstacle. On run four, it reran and a third yet to be published, are made the first part of the course (including the possible by technological advances in as­ obstacles from run three) at 15 mph, trophysics. In this case, the Keck!DEIMOS then demonstrated higher speeds while multi-object spectrograph on the Keck II navigating a field of trashcans. To win the Telescope possesses the mirror size and race in less than 10 hours, Murray notes, light-gathering capacity to image stars Alice will need to average 20 mph, but Kristen Zortman, with javelin in hand. that are very faint, as well as the spectro­ will have to drive as fast as 50 mph at graphic sensitivity to obtain highly accu­ times in order to maintain that average. rate radial velocities. "We've learned some valuabre lessons Zortman, from page 1 The extended stellar disk has previ­ and have some advantages this year," the field and thought, 'Wow, this one's chose to focus on track. The javelin ously gone undetected because stars in says Murray. First, this year's race won't really important. I hope it's a good one!'" emerged as her best event, one for which the region could not be known to be a be during finals week, as last year's was. Afterward, the smiles and praise from Levesque thinks she is well suited physi­ part of the disk until their motions were The team also now knows what the actu­ her father-who drove from Wisconsin to cally and temperamentally. calculated. In addition, the inhomoge­ al racecourse will be like, and has made see Zortman throw for the first time-and "The javelin is all about technique," neous "fuzz" that makes up the extended Alice street legal so that it doesn't have from track coach Julie Levesque "made says Levesque, a three-time all-American disk does not look like a disk, but appears to be hauled on a trailer, as Bob was. me feel happy more than the actual fin­ at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who finished to be a fragmented, messy halo built up While no one will go out on a limb ish." She was also touched by the many second in the nationals in the heptathlon, from many previous galaxies crashing and predict that Caltech will win, Burdick congratulatory e-mails she received, which includes the javelin. "If you try into Andromeda, and it was assumed forecasts that someone will complete this some from people she'd never met, in­ to throw a javelin far or throw it hard, it that stars in this region would be going year's course-" a remarkable evolution cluding Caltech coaches and Administra­ usually doesn't go far." every which way. of the technology and a testament to the tive Technology Center staff member Erin Although as an aerospace engineer "Finding all these stars in an orderly hard work of all the teams." Lindsay, a former javelin thrower. Zortman can wax technical on how a rotation was the last explanation anyone • Zortman's qualifying throw of 40.84 javelin flies, she says her training isn't re­ would think of," says Chapman. He adds meters set a Caltech record for women, ally an advantage, as might be assumed. that further work will determine whether and is the Institute's best throw since "You have to remember that the javelin the extended disk is merely a quirk of the Philip Conley '56 set the men's record of throw is not a power event like the shot Andromeda galaxy, or is perhaps typical Service Awards, from page 5 244 feet, one inch, and went on to the put or hammer throw," she says. "The of other galaxies. Institute's professors. "When new stu­ 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. javelin is a lot more technique because This article is adapted from a press dents arrive, most of them are terrified Recently named Caltech's outstanding it's not a big, heavy thing-it's a light release by Caltech Media Relations. of faculty-tapping on doors, apologiz­ athlete of the year, Zortman has also let­ thing that interacts with the air. So it has For more information, visit www.astro. ing for disturbing them. By the time they tered for three years on the varsity vol­ flight dynamics, but I think lots of prac­ caltech.edu/-schapman/m31.html or leave they've transformed from wide­ leyball team, and played first base on the tice will get you farther than knowing lots pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/ eyed kids into confident adults. I like to men's baseball team her freshman and about flight." PR 12703.html. feel I had a small hand in the educational sophomore years. (A state championship Zortman says her motivations are pri­ • process." The senior administrative sec­ softball player in high school, she had to marily confidence-building and nurturing retary has also worked as an editorial convert to baseball at Caltech, which cur­ her competitive nature. "The excitement assistant in the division, and earlier spent rently has no women's softball team.) of competing is enough for me, but it's seven years working for Caltech's library Levesque eventually spotted her run­ also nice to see myself improving week system. ning the 100-meter dash at an intramural by week." Caltech president David Baltimore event, and talked her into joining the As for whether javelin throwing im­ and Dean Currie, vice president for busi­ track-and-field team. Since the baseball presses the guys, she says that her fi­ ness and finance, presented the awards, and track- seasons overlap, Zortman ance, for one, thinks it's "pretty cool." after which refreshments were provided • in Beckman Institute Courtyard amid a display of photos from previous years' service awards. Employees receiving awards of 20 years and above attended a special Athenaeum lunch afterward . A GALEX image composite of the • Andromeda galaxy. Caltech 336 ......

The ca mpus community biweekly California Institute of Technology June 2, 2005, vol. 5, no. 11 Pasadena, California 91125

Editor: Javier Marquez ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED (626) 395-6624; [email protected] Writers: Rhonda Hillbery, Daryn Kobata, Mark Wheeler Calendar Editor: Emily Adelsohn (626) 395-4605; [email protected] Calenda r Administrator: Debbie Bradbury (626) 395-3630; [email protected] Gra phic Artist: Doug Cummings Ph otographer: Bob Paz Published by the Office of Public Relations