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The California Tech Volume CXiX number 2 Pasadena, California [email protected] oCtober 5, 2015 A little too much of a Dow Foundation grants add a new good thing: Finding chapter to collaboration with Caltech WAYNE LEWIS paramagnetic resonance, and Caltech as well as endowing Caltech Media Relations mass spectrometry. The funds five graduate fellowships work/life balance also will support the cost of in chemistry and chemical This article was originally teaching graduate students engineering and another five HANNALORE GERLING- their undergraduate programs. published online at caltech.edu. how to use these instruments. fellowships in energy science. DUNSMORE These people often have “Dow and Caltech have The agreement made Dow a Contributing Writer identities highly tied to being The Dow Chemical Company built a robust relationship, member of Caltech’s Corporate the top of their peer groups. Foundation has awarded two with a history of advancing Partners Program, which As another academic year Unfortunately, even among new grants to benefit Caltech’s research that addresses some provides a gateway for exchange begins, it is natural that the the most talented and hardest Division of Chemistry and of society’s toughest challenges. and productive collaborations many things that make Caltech working students, there will Chemical Engineering a special place come to mind. inevitably be some spread, and (CCE), funding faculty The campus is stunning, the as a result, many students end start-up investments weather is gorgeous without fail up feeling like they’ve lost that and leading-edge (even when it’s brutally hot, the major aspect of how they define instrumentation. sky still is the most incredible themselves. This serves to These gifts are the blue), and many of the compound imposter syndrome latest in a decades-long greatest minds in science are ― not only are they now dealing association between packed into one campus small with feeling inadequate, the foundation and enough that seeing a Nobel students are also dealing with a Caltech that has laureate becomes a pedestrian serious loss of identity. advanced research experience. Our venerated One of the myriad great and education in fields Honor Code allows a unique things about Techers, though, including sustainable level of freedom in academic is that they don’t just accept energy, materials courses, and promotes an issues. They see a problem, and science, and applied atmosphere of trust that they want ― even need – to physics. I personally haven’t seen solve it. They often feel like if “The industrial- replicated elsewhere. We have they can’t have the greatest raw academic partnership a unique culture that celebrates intelligence, at least they can between Dow and nerdiness and allows the natural still retain some aspect of their Caltech exemplifies curiosity and passion common former identities by working our two institutions’ to all Techers to flourish. hard enough to still be at the top. commitment to However, there is a downside: For both undergraduate and addressing urgent Caltech’s Altair Professor of Chemistry Greg Fu and postdoctoral scholar Jens Schmidt having an environment full graduate students, this leads problems that confront work with a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. Shared resources such as the in- strumentation funded by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation help advance discovery of brilliant, motivated people to a tendency to work nearly the world,” says across Caltech. creates pressure to be endlessly incessantly. Days and evenings Thomas F. Rosenbaum, Photo Courtesy of Philip Channing productive. are a nearly meaningless Caltech’s president, Imposter syndrome is distinction, and weekends are holder of the Sonja and William These latest grants from the between industry and the something every Techer I have often simply days that students Davidow Presidential Chair, foundation will expand research Institute. met is familiar with. It’s that can just work, uninterrupted by and professor of physics. opportunities, delivering “Caltech’s leadership creeping feeling that you really classes or meetings. Eventually, “We are grateful to The Dow benefits to engineering, the in science education and don’t deserve to be here, that this behavior ceases to come Chemical Company Foundation science community, the sustainability research make all your peers are vastly more from really believing it aids for enabling chemists and Institute, and ultimately these grants a perfect fit in competent and that at any in productivity, and starts chemical engineers to pursue society,” says A.N. Sreeram, advancing innovation and moment, someone is going becoming performative ― a their best ideas in defining areas Dow’s corporate vice president building the workforce of to see through your charade. way to demonstrate that you such as materials chemistry for research and development. tomorrow,” says Rob Vallentine, Sometimes it manifests as not really deserve to be here. and renewable energy.” The link between the president and executive director feeling as intelligent as those This behavior pattern One grant will underwrite Institute and Dow stretches of The Dow Chemical Company around you. Sometimes it is mimicked throughout start-up costs for new faculty back more than 30 years Foundation and global director manifests as feeling like you’re academia. Postdocs work at members, giving CCE a and includes numerous joint of corporate citizenship at not working hard enough. It least as hard as the students, key advantage in attracting research projects as well as The Dow Chemical Company. can also manifest as feeling like except without nearly as much creative, original thinkers. This steady foundation support for “We are pleased to provide everyone else you know is more guidance or support from an is especially important funding Caltech’s Dow Travel Fellowship resources that enable Caltech accomplished, or feeling like adviser. Professors regularly for CCE—an academic program and Dow’s Seminar Series in faculty and students to advance everyone else is doing more ― put in 60-hour workweeks, that has pushed the frontiers Organic and Organometallic science and invent important more classes, more research, at least, to try to earn tenure. of discovery and trained Chemistry. technologies.” more outreach, more CV Unfortunately, this has more generations of scientific leaders In 2009, Dow and Caltech Established in 1979, The builders and maybe even more negative side effects than just by making every recruitment initiated a $4.2 million Dow Chemical Company social activities. being hugely unpleasant and count. This approach has partnership that fueled Foundation contributes to To some extent, imposter massively underpaid for the helped the division build an investigations aimed at creating sustainable communities syndrome is experienced by time worked. This culture of active faculty that includes three solar cells from inexpensive, by supporting strategic all, or at least most, college all work and no play doesn’t Nobel laureates, four National abundant materials. That philanthropic investments students and graduate students. just make Jack a dull boy, but Medal of Science recipients, same year, Dow’s Graduate to build the workforce of However, Caltech’s stringent creates an inefficient system one recipient of the National Fellowship in Chemical tomorrow and drive innovative standards for admission ― that perpetuates inequality and Medal of Technology and Sciences and Engineering global solutions to address at all levels ― create a prime is detrimental to the health of Innovation, and 20 members was endowed with help from the world’s most pressing environment for next-level those in it. of the National Academies. the Gordon and Betty Moore challenges. The foundation is imposter syndrome. All of the Plenty of studies have shown The second commitment will Matching Program. a separately governed private undergraduate students here that increasing the number of help CCE update and maintain A $10 million collaboration foundation designed to carry were the best at their high hours worked decreases the equipment shared by all of its followed in 2011, providing out the charitable efforts of schools, and all of the graduate hourly productivity, and often scholars—facilities for nuclear resources for the Resnick Dow. students here were the best at Continued on page 4 magnetic resonance, electron Sustainability Institute at news | Page 2 OPInIOn | Page 3 FEATURe | Page 4 sPORts | Page 5 In thIs suPeRmOOn and naIlen RevIews nIma talks basIcs JamshIdI On Pace lunaR eclIPse cO- “new beRmuda” by OF ascIt tO bReak kIlls Re- Issue IncIde deaFheaven cORd news 2 oCtober 5, 2015 the calIFORnIa tech Caltech Y Column Supermoon coincides CALTECH Y with their Science Olympiad team or do regular tutoring along with occasional hands- The Caltech Y Column serves to inform on science experiments. Transportation is with total lunar eclipse students of upcoming events and volunteer provided. For more information and to RSVP, ANDREW LUCAS opportunities. The list is compiled by Neera contact [email protected]. Eligible for Contributing Writer Olive Walk — at least until clouds briefly Shah from information given by the Caltech Federal Work Study. covered it. Y and its student leaders. 3b. Hathaway Sycamores The time: 7:45 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27. The eclipse ran from 5:11 p.m. to 10:22 Founded by students in 1916, the Y was Wednesdays | 5:30-8:00pm | Highland The fireworks on Beckman lawn had just p.m., with the umbral portion of the eclipse, organized to provide extracurricular activities Park ended. Following the advice of the illustrious when the moon was directly in the shadow planned and implemented by students as Volunteer at Hathaway-Sycamores, a ASCIT president, dozens of Techers made of the Earth instead of just in the penumbra, an opportunity to learn leadership skills group that supports local underprivileged their way to the ninth floor of Millikan running from 6:07 p.m. to 9:27 p.m (http:// and discover themselves. More information but motivated high school students.