Welcome to HSS
HSS 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
This fall marks 60 years since Caltech established the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences in 1966, renaming its original Division of Humanities founded in 1926. Please join us on November 6 and 7 for a series of events, featuring alumni and current faculty, showcasing the division’s expertise and its relevance to today’s most pressing social questions. These events are free and open to the public.
Events
All EventsJob Market Seminar
Ulric B. and Evelyn L. Bray Social Sciences Seminar
- William D. Hacker Professor of Economics and Political Science, Emeritus
Charles R. Plott
Caltech’s continuing focus on the formalization, integration, and experimental testing of basic principles of economics and political science creates challenges, intellectual excitement, and an integrated body of science that continues to grow and find important applications that will span many decades."
- Professor of Comparative Literature
Jocelyn Holland
The humanities have the practical function of giving students something they wouldn't otherwise have. The humanities classroom is a space where they can take a step back from their scientific work and learn to think about the world in a different way."
- Assistant Professor of Economics
Pawel Janas
I study how financial systems and public policy shape economic outcomes. At Caltech, collaboration among economists, historians, and data scientists helps uncover how institutions influence economic growth over time."
- Eli and Edythe Broad Professor of English
Cindy Weinstein
Caltech is a wonderful place to pursue original research; it lets your interests determine the work you do. There is both a tremendous amount of freedom and an extremely high level of expectation, and these two combine to create a terrific intellectual environment that helps scholars generate their best work."
- Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics; Director, Ronald and Maxine Linde Institute of Economic and Management Sciences
Jean-Laurent Rosenthal
We have to restore people's understanding that science and engineering solve a lot of social problems, while also sensitizing scientists and engineers to the reality that their solutions must find traction within societal structures that decide what succeeds and what fails.
- Professor of Political Science
Alexander V. Hirsch
There are other institutions that are wonderful at teaching and wonderful at research. But at Caltech, it seems to me that to be wonderful at teaching means that you teach the students what the frontier of research is—that teaching and research are not different things."
- Professor of Economics; William H. Hurt Scholar
Kirby Nielsen
Experiments are starting to get incorporated into mainstream economics but are still a relatively new tool. Caltech has been a powerhouse in experimental economics from the beginning, and it's so exciting to join the tradition."
- Edie and Lew Wasserman Professor of Social Science History; Ronald and Maxine Linde Leadership Chair, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Caltech
Tracy Dennison
Our memories for epidemics are very short. We keep hearing that things will never be the same again, but that's not what the history tells us. Some things may change, but the kind of profound social reorganization one might expect is unlikely."
- Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics and History, Emeritus
Philip T. Hoffman
Caltech is the one place where you really can do interdisciplinary work, whether you are a professor or a student. You never stop learning—or advancing the frontiers of knowledge."
- Assistant Professor of Economics
Axel Niemeyer
I specialize in mechanism design, the science of economic rule-making. Economics is usually concerned with analyzing existing economic institutions. Mechanism design flips the direction of inquiry: how should institutions be designed to best attain a given set of social or economic goals?"
- PhD '24, Social Sciences
Shunto Kobayashi
Because the number of graduate students is relatively small, we all know each other well. I think this encourages us to discuss research frequently and support each other's endeavors."
- PhD '23, Social Sciences
Claudia Kann
I originally came to Caltech for mechanical engineering before realizing that that’s not where my passion lay. I’m really excited to use what I already know to new and exciting problems within the social sciences."
- Social and Decision Neuroscience Graduate Student
Sneha Reddy Aenugu
The drive to understand the nature of intelligence is what brought me to Caltech. Only with a vision of merging the disciplines of humanities, neuroscience, and AI, will we be able to build and deploy artificial intelligence in a safe and sustainable manner—and that happens to be my vision."
- PhD '25, Social Sciences
Peter Doe
After speaking with one of the students in the social sciences PhD program, I saw Caltech as a place where the faculty would invest in me as a student, rather than try to get things out of me."
- PhD '25, Social Sciences
Ke Shi
I came to Caltech because I was drawn to its unique and rigorous social sciences program. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful campus and the tight-knit community after I arrived."
- Social Sciences Graduate Student
Camila Farrés
The faculty really commit to the students here at Caltech. All of them are so open to talking to you. You have all of the institution behind you, helping you and pushing you to be a researcher."
- PhD '20, Social Sciences
Alejandro Robinson-Cortés
Caltech is a unique place. Characterized by its focus on theoretical reasoning and rigorous methods. And located at the heart of the lovely and multicultural San Gabriel Valley. It’s a tough combination to beat."
- PhD '18, Social Sciences
Lucas Núñez
The mix and interactions between multiple social science disciplines at HSS make it a uniquely enriching place to study."
- Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Affective Neuroscience (2020–23)
Sarah M. Tashjian
Caltech is unique because it fosters creativity. Being at Caltech allows me to push the boundaries of my research and to tackle questions of how the human brain functions from new angles."
- Postdoctoral Scholar Teaching Fellow in Science, Society, and Public Policy (2023–2025)
Cong Cao
At Caltech, I’ve found an environment that challenges convention and encourages bold, interdisciplinary thinking. As a researcher and instructor in health economics and policy, I’ve been able to integrate data science, AI, and causal inference into questions that directly impact public well-being.
- Howard E. and Susanne C. Jessen Postdoctoral Scholar Teaching Fellow in Medieval History
Patrick Morgan
Teaching humanities courses at Caltech is an incredible opportunity to teach and insist on clarity of expression, argumentation, and reasoning in the work of students whose scientific research will be at the forefront of their fields. Our work as HSS instructors has such an impact!"
- Ahmanson Postdoctoral Instructor in History of Biology (2020–23)
Charles A. Kollmer
I enjoy working with Caltech undergraduates to deepen their engagement with the history of science. Doing this at Caltech is doubly exciting because Caltech itself has been the site of so much fascinating research in the life sciences."
- Senior Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Neuroscience (2015–24)
Jeffrey A. Cockburn
Science and education isn't about filling buckets, it's about lighting fires. If you bring the gasoline, HSS will hand you the match."
- Weisman Postdoctoral Scholar Teaching Fellow in Visual Culture (2023–2025)
Anna Stielau
Teaching visual culture at Caltech is a pleasure and a privilege. I support future scientists and engineers in becoming sharper critics of a world in which images increasingly mediate knowledge — a world they are helping to build."
- Linde Institute Postdoctoral Instructor in Economics (2020–2023)
Fedor Sandomirskiy
HSS is home to exceptional talents, distinct methods, and diverse tastes. This dissimilarity, along with an openness to ideas of others, makes HSS unique. Witnessing the magic of interdisciplinary work in action and, moreover, being a part of it is amazing."
- Linde Institute Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Economics (2021–22)
Alexander Bloedel
HSS is a remarkable place, especially for young scholars with broad interests in economic theory. It has a rich history as—and continues to be—a home to some of the most exciting developments in theoretical social science, including foundational work on social choice and political economy, the incorporation of social networks into economic analysis, and a range of recent advances in information economics."
- Howard E. and Susanne C. Jessen Postdoctoral Instructor in Philosophy of Physics (2019–22)
Mario Hubert
Caltech not only nourishes curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking among students and faculty but also a community of solidarity and humility."
