Orientation Schedule
The Graduate Orientation video modules are now live. You may access the videos in the "Orientation Modules" tab. Please plan to have watched all videos by the end of the day Friday, September 24, 2021.
All times are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). Current conditions dictate that events will be synchronous via Zoom, or in-person in small groups. Mandatory participation is indicated by an asterisk(*).
September 16–18: iBegin@Caltech - International Student Orientation
Required for all incoming international students. See the full schedule of events here.
Monday, September 20, 2021
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Breakfast Burritos and Goodies
Stop by the Center for Student Services front patio and meet the Graduate Studies Office staff and pick up a breakfast burrito to enjoy while you watch Convocation, and get your welcome bag filled with lots of fun stuff!
10:30 a.m.
Institute Convocation
Caltech's annual convocation ceremony offers a warm welcome and introduction to the Institute for new undergraduate students, new graduate students, and new postdoctoral scholars as well as for their family and friends. The program includes greetings from President Thomas F. Rosenbaum and an introduction to student life at Caltech by Vice President for Student Affairs Kevin M. Gilmartin and Student Affairs offices. Watch here.
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Academic Option Programming
Each option will provide option-specific orientation programming.
THE RECEPTION IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Reception at the President's Residence
President Thomas F. Rosenbaum and Professor Katherine T. Faber invite current first-year graduate students and incoming students to an outdoor reception at their home. Beverages and light snacks will be served.
Virtual Science Talk by Katherine L. (Katie) Bouman, Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematical Science, Electrical Engineering and Astronomy
Katie Bouman's research focuses on computational imaging: designing systems that tightly integrate algorithm and sensor design, making it possible to observe phenomena previously difficult or impossible to measure with traditional approaches. Imaging plays a critical role in advancing science. However, as science continues to push boundaries, traditional sensors are reaching the limits of what they can measure. Katie's group combines ideas from signal processing, computer vision, machine learning, and physics to find and exploit hidden signals for both scientific discovery and technological innovation. For example, in collaboration with the Event Horizon Telescope, Katie's group is helping to build a computational earth-sized telescope that is taking the first images of a black hole and is analyzing its images to learn about general relativity in the strong-field regime. Watch here.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
10:00 a.m.
Introduction and Welcome from David C. Chan, Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Dean, R. Darrell Peterson. Watch here!
10:15 a.m.
Graduate Student Council. Watch here!
10:30 a.m.
Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity* Watch here!
12:00 p.m.
Lunch and Breakout Groups
All students will be pre-assigned to breakout groups, facilitated by a senior graduate student. You will receive a welcome email from your facilitator, with instructions on where to meet outdoors on campus. Together as a small group, you will pick up your box lunch in one of the recreation rooms at the Catalina apartments and then walk to various campus locations to engage in discussions related to life at Caltech.
2:00 p.m.
Faculty Panel*
Panelists: John O. Dabiri - Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering; Heather Knutson - Professor of Planetary Science; Richard Murray - Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering and Division Chair for Biology and Biological Engineering; Kimberly See - Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Matthew (Matt) Shum - Professor of Economics
For more information on our Faculty Panelists, click here.
Watch here!
3:00 p.m.
Equity and Title IX* Watch here!
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Teaching Conference*
The Teaching Conference is a required component of Graduate Orientation and fulfills your mandatory training should you ever be a TA at Caltech; it is also a valuable professional development activity whether you will formally teach at Caltech or not, as it addresses aspects of professional teaching, mentoring, and communication that are more broadly applicable. All incoming graduate students should plan to participate in all components of the Teaching Conference. Join live via Zoom starting at 10:00 a.m. Please check your email for Zoom info.
See a full schedule of events here.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Math/Coding Refresher
Hosted by the Graduate Student Council. Watch here!
Please see the schedule for the Math/Coding Refresher below:
12 - 1: ODE's
1-2: Calculus
2-3: MATLAB
3-3:30 Afternoon break
3:30-4:30: Python
4:30-5:30: Mathematica
5:30-6:30: Linear Algebra
POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Club Fair