2025-2026 Student Faculty Colloquium
General Information
Join the Graduate Student Council for this year's Student-Faculty Colloquium on Tuesday, June 16, from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM in Chen 100.
This year's colloquium will bring together graduate students and faculty for a morning of thoughtful conversation around issues shaping the graduate experience at Caltech. The program will feature three 45-minute panels: Navigating the International Student Experience, AI in Academia, and The Importance of Humanity in the AI Era; and will conclude with the Teaching and Mentoring Awards. Together, these discussions will explore community, research, responsible AI use, human judgment, creativity, and the changing landscape of academic life.
Links
- RSVP is requested for food planning, but all members of the Caltech community are welcome to attend: https://forms.gle/wocrPSaYRSRm7gw16
- Submit a question for our panel to discuss! https://forms.gle/vu4eicW4jxJhxE5E8
- Can't make it in person? Attend remotely: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/88666331452
About our Panelists
Navigating the International Student Experience
Laura Flower Kim is Associate Director of Caltech's International Student Programs, where she works closely with international students as they navigate academic life, immigration processes, and community-building at Caltech. Her perspective is especially valuable for understanding the everyday realities international students face while studying, working, and building a home far from home.
Kaushik Bhattacharya is the Howell N. Tyson, Sr., Professor of Mechanics and Materials Science at Caltech and previously served as Vice Provost. With experience as both a faculty member and academic leader, as well as a career shaped by international academic communities, he brings a thoughtful perspective on how global experiences influence research, mentorship, and institutional life.
Franca Hoffmann is an Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Caltech whose work spans applied mathematics, partial differential equations, and data-driven modeling. As an international scholar and International Scientific Advisor for Quantum Leap Africa, she brings a valuable perspective on global scientific collaboration, cross-cultural academic communities, and what it means to belong in research spaces.
AI in Academia
Omer Tamuz is a Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Caltech and Chair of Caltech's First-Year Admissions Committee. His work on probability, decision-making, and social learning offers a unique lens for thinking about how AI may influence learning, research, and institutional judgment.
Jake H. Lee is a data science researcher in the Machine Learning and Instrument Autonomy group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Drawing from his involvement in generative AI pilots for research and development at JPL, he brings a practical view of how AI is already affecting day-to-day coding, scientific workflows, and experiment management.
David Chan is the Harold and Violet Alvarez Professor of Biology and Dean of Graduate Studies at Caltech. As both a leading biologist and a senior academic leader, he brings an important perspective on how AI may reshape graduate education, mentorship, research culture, and the training of future scientists.
The Importance of Humanity in the AI Era
Rafal Kocielnik is an AI Research Scientist at Cedars-Sinai whose work focuses on human-centered multimodal AI, including large language models, vision-language models, and tools for surgical training. His research asks not only what AI systems can do, but how they can be designed to support human learning, decision-making, transparency, and agency.
Dehn Gilmore is a Professor of English and Executive Officer for the Humanities at Caltech. Her work on literature, visual culture, and the Victorian novel brings a humanistic perspective to questions of creativity, interpretation, and representation in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
Jennifer Jahner is Professor of English and Dean of Undergraduate Students at Caltech. Her scholarship on rhetoric, law, evidence, and knowledge-making offers a reminder that questions of judgment, proof, and interpretation have long been central to human life, and remain especially important as AI becomes more embedded in academic and social worlds.