Welcome to HSS
► CANCELED: Ulric B. and Evelyn L. Bray Social Sciences Seminar
Ulric B. and Evelyn L. Bray Social Sciences Seminar
- Professor of English
Jennifer Jahner
We live in unprecedented times, but I hope that students leave my classes with the recognition that the questions we ask about inquiry, ethics, environment, and art are not new ones. Attention to the past can make us more creative stewards of the present."
- Richard N. Merkin Professor of Mathematical Finance
Jakša Cvitanić
We create an environment in which interdisciplinary, original research involving the social sciences and quantitative fields can thrive. It boils down to two things, which are education and research. There are not many places like Caltech where students can learn from experts from so many different fields in a natural way."
- 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 Cognitive Neuroscience; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair, Caltech Brain Imaging Center; Director, Caltech Brain Imaging Center
Dean Mobbs
Caltech allows researchers to be risky. Risk is an important part of science. It's where discovery occurs."
- Assistant Professor of English and Black Studies
Dana Murphy
I research Black expressive cultures in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Black diaspora. I am thrilled to teach students who care so deeply about social justice, diversity, and inclusion."
- Professor of Visual Culture
Brian R. Jacobson
There’s no better place to work on questions about the intersection between art, aesthetics, science, and technology than at Caltech, where students, faculty, scientists, and engineers are working on visual culture all the time—just in a way that we don’t necessarily always think of as visual culture."
- Professor of History
Warren C. Brown
In my classes, students learn the craft of the medieval historian: to read closely the often difficult primary sources from medieval Europe; push past but also take into account their perspectives, assumptions, and biases, as much as possible; and to assemble what they have learned into persuasive written arguments."
- Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics and History
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."
- Linde Institute Professor of Finance
Richard Roll
Humility is cleansing, so I enjoy teaching Caltech students, who are generally smarter than me."
- 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."
- 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."
- 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."
- Social and Decision Neuroscience Graduate Student
Qianying Wu
Here in HSS, I'm able to apply multidisciplinary approaches to my research—to understand typical and atypical human social behaviors with functional neuroimaging, and to characterize those behaviors using computational models."
- Social Sciences Graduate Student
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
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."
- Social Sciences Graduate Student
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."
- Social Sciences Graduate Student
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."
- 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."
- Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Affective Neuroscience
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."
- 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."
- Linde Postdoctoral Scholar in Economic and Management Sciences (2017–19)
Teddy Mekonnen
We economic theorists come up with problems that are real and relevant, but some of our solutions are impractical, with implicit assumptions of infinite time, resources, or data. When you use computer science to approach economic questions, such as matching problems related to apps for ride-sharing or dating, those assumptions matter."
- Fletcher Jones Foundation Postdoctoral Instructor in Contemporary Literature (2020–21)
Julia Hori
I think coming from a different discipline or background, the questions that emerge are just different. Also, perhaps the students are a little bit less afraid to ask certain grounding questions that a student with a major in English might not ask. And these questions actually help to facilitate the conversation tremendously."
- Linde Institute Postdoctoral Instructor in Economics
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."
- Senior Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Neuroscience
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."
- Linde Postdoctoral Scholar in Economics (2020–21)
Joseph Root
The faculty and the research environment at Caltech are unique. It’s a place where people tackle the most challenging problems, crossing the traditional boundaries between disciplines to do so."
- Jessen Postdoctoral Instructor in the Humanities (2017–19)
Melanie Masterton Sherazi
I have found that the humanities are integrated seamlessly into Caltech’s curriculum. My students have expanded my own ideas about literature with their original interpretations, driven by their interests and areas of expertise."
- Ahmanson Postdoctoral Instructor in History of Biology
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."