These are a few of the accomplishments of this year's class of new honorary members of the Caltech Alumni Association.
They are Gaylord "Nick" Nichols, director of Caltech's Industrial Relations Center; Ed Stolper, Caltech's acting provost, chair of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, and the Leonhard Professor of Geology; and Tom Tombrello, chair of the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, and Kenan Professor and professor of physics.
They will be feted at the Honorary Alumni Dinner on Friday, June 11, at Caltech's Athenaeum where they will receive a framed certificate of Honorary Membership in the Alumni Association. Including this year's trio, 89 people have been named honorary members of the Alumni Association.
"The Alumni Association grants Honorary Membership to those in the Caltech family whose extraordinary and sustained efforts have positively influenced the Institute or the Alumni Association," said Stephanie Charles, who chaired the Honorary Alumni Nomination Committee.
Nichols has been associated with Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 46 years, and has worked at Caltech for more than 20 years. As head of the Industrial Relations Center, he brings 1,400 business leaders to campus to attend classes and events, and arranges to have classes presented to 3,600 additional people at their companies or off site every year. The Industrial Relations Center has dozens of course offerings and has raised Caltech's profile among major corporations. Nichols was instrumental in fostering the MIT/Caltech Enterprise Forum in which technology-based companies and issues are presented to the Caltech community, the financial community, and the entrepreneurial community. Nichols also opens up his Industrial Relations programs to students free of charge, and several students have used the courses as stepping-stones to internships, jobs, and other endeavors.
Ed Stolper has been chairman of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences for almost 10 years. During this time, the number of majors and enrollments in the division have increased manyfold and the division is known across campus as having among the happiest and most engaged students; a good part of this is attributed to the open policies and close relationships between students and faculty led by Stolper as division chairman. In addition, his division maintains strong relationships with alumni through Alumni College, field trips with the Associates and alumni, and other programs that have been developed during his time as chairman.
Tom Tombrello has been an enthusiastic supporter of undergraduate research since he arrived on campus more than 40 years ago. He served as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program mentor and financial supporter when the program began, was a charter member of the SURF Administrative Committee, and continues to review proposals and provide counsel to the program. Tombrello initiated a course many years ago to provide undergraduate research opportunities for top first-year physics students. He subsequently expanded the program to include high school students with high potential for admission to Caltech and through that effort was able to attract some outstanding students to Caltech. He received the Feynman Teaching Award as well as two Associated Students of Caltech Teaching Awards. Along with Nichols, Tombrello was instrumental in setting up the annual Law & Technology mock trials which Caltech hosts with Loyola Law School.
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