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Faculty In Residence

Andrew Howard Research Group
Professor Rangel and students
Students watching a movie.
Students
Students at Beckman Institute Lawn
Batygin family
Andrew Howard Research Group
Professor Rangel and students
Students watching a movie.
Students
Students at Beckman Institute Lawn
Batygin family

Current Faculty in Residence

Antonio Rangel, Head Faculty in Residence

Bing Professor of Neuroscience, Behavioral Biology and Economics; Head Faculty in Residence, Bechtel Residence, 2018 -; Faculty in Residence, Avery House, 2015 - 2018

Bing Professor of Neuroscience, Behavioral Biology, and Economics Antonio Rangel earned his B.S. at Caltech (BS '93) and his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1998. Prior to joining Caltech in 2006 in the Division of Humanities and Social Science, Prof. Rangel was an assistant professor of economics at Stanford from 1998 to 2006, as well as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The Rangel Neuroeconomics Laboratory studies the computational and neurobiological basis of decision-making and the applications of this knowledge to economics, psychiatry and the development of ‘neurotechnologies' designed to improve decision-making. The primary focus of his lab is on understanding how the brain computes and compares values to make simple choices.

His role as Faculty in Residence (FIR) in Avery House began in 2015. Prof. Rangel and his family are passionate about enhancing the residential experience of Caltech students. The Rangel family are actively engaged with the residents, and invitations to his residence are frequent as are the emails from his children asking residents to join the family for an adventure nearby.

In August 2018 Prof. Rangel was appointed as the Head FIR and he and his family moved into Bechtel Residence in September. His expanded role includes helping to grow the FIR program and to assist the FIRs with programming and resident engagement.

Konstantin Batygin, Faculty in Residence

Professor of Planetary Science; Faculty in Residence, Avery House, 2018 -

Konstantin Batygin is a professor of planetary science at Caltech's Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences (GPS). He received his B.S. in physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2008, and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in planetary science from Caltech in 2012. Prior to joining the faculty in 2014, Batygin was a postdoctoral scholar at Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, and Harvard University.

Prof. Batygin's research interests primarily lie in the field of planetary astrophysics. He is fascinated by a wide range of problems related to the formation and evolution of the solar system, dynamical evolution of exoplanets, as well as physical processes that occur in planetary interiors and atmospheres. When not doing science, he moonlights as the lead singer and guitarist in the rock band, The Seventh Season.

H. Jane Bae, Faculty in Residence

Assistant Professor of Aerospace; Faculty in Residence, Bechtel Residence, 2022 -

H. Jane Bae's research focuses on the physical understanding and modeling of structures associated with near-wall turbulence. Her main research goal is to develop high-fidelity models that reduce the computational cost to simulate high-Reynolds-number turbulent flows. These models will allow simulations to be utilized in the design cycle of wind farms and aircrafts and in predictions of atmospheric flows, reducing the overall time and effort associated with these processes.

Prof. Bae also studies the physical mechanisms that generate and sustain turbulence, which, in turn, fuels new modeling approaches. She has interests in applying machine learning, information theory, and other novel methods to turbulence modeling.

Andrew W. Howard, Faculty in Residence

Professor of Astronomy; Faculty in Residence, Avery House, 2022 -

Andrew Howard was born and raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.  He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he obtained an undergraduate degree in physics and worked in the laboratory of Tom Greytak.  He obtained a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University working with Paul Horowitz on optical SETI experiments.  He changed fields to astronomy as a postdoc and studied extrasolar planets with Geoff Marcy at UC Berkeley as a Townes Postdoctoral Fellow.  Prior to joining the Caltech faculty, Andrew was a faculty member at the University of Hawaii.

Prof. Howard is interested in the formation and evolution of extrasolar planets.  His team discovers and characterizes these extrasolar planets using telescopes in Hawaii, California, and in space.  He approaches this as an observer studying the physical and orbital characteristics of individual planetary systems and the patterns of their ensemble physical properties.  With thousands of planetary systems for comparison, we place our Solar System in a broader context.