Community Member Milestones
- Celebrating a remarkable career:
Hiro Yamamoto
Hiro, a senior staff scientist with the LIGO Laboratory, is retiring this spring. He has made significant contributions to LIGO's success over the years, particularly in understanding the subtle effects of mirror distortion in complex optical resonators. "The entire LIGO Laboratory will miss Hiro's good humor and vital wisdom as we venture into our next phase of exciting science and engineering," says professor of physics Rana Adhikari.
- Welcome to Caltech:
Romina-Marie Baronia
Romina has been appointed programming and operations coordinator at the Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity. A 2022 creative writing graduate from the University of Redlands, she previously served with AmeriCorps VISTA, focusing on STEM education equity. She looks forward to advancing inclusivity at Caltech.
- Welcome to Caltech:
Venus Jones
Venus joins Caltech as the new business manager in Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE). Most recently, she served as the Center Administrator for the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, and she has also worked at USC and UCLA. She has expertise in managing national programs, handling grants and contracts, navigating university policies and procedures, and overseeing human resources management.
- Welcome to Caltech:
James Knutila
James joined Caltech as the new director of alumni communications and marketing programs in Advancement and Alumni Relations. James was formerly the director of content marketing and communications at ASU Learning Enterprise in Los Angeles.