Presidential Distinguished Speaker Series
Upcoming Speakers
Dr. David Ho
April 7 at 1:30 p.m. PDT
The Athenaeum
Dr. David Ho is a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, the Clyde '56 and Helen Wu Professor of Medicine, and the founding director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. His research on HIV and AIDS in the 1990s advanced the understanding of the virus's rapid mutability and led him to advocate the use of combination antiretroviral therapy to treat the disease. His quantitative approach to medical research, developed while a student at Caltech, resulted in a turning point in the AIDS pandemic. Ho is credited for saving the lives of tens of millions of people who benefited from combination antiretroviral therapy.
Born in Taiwan in 1952, Ho immigrated to Los Angeles at the age of 12. He quickly learned English and graduated at the top of his class at John Marshall High School. He attended Caltech as an undergraduate, majoring in biology. "Caltech taught me how to think, how to tackle problems, how to solve puzzles, and all that formed a very strong foundation for my career," he said in an earlier interview with the Institute. Following graduation, he earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his clinical training at UCLA Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
As a medical resident, Ho saw some of the earliest cases of HIV/AIDS. The elusiveness of the devastating disease and the emerging epidemic captured his attention. Ho's studies have extended beyond HIV to include coronaviruses, influenza viruses, and Ebola. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he expanded his focus to understanding and treating SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Ho is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He was awarded Thailand's Prince Mahidol Award in Medicine and was elected to the California Hall of Fame. He is a recipient of Caltech's Distinguished Alumni Award and 15 honorary doctorates. In 1996, Time Magazine named him Man of the Year, and in 2001, he received a Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton.
Event Details
Date: Monday, April 7
Time: 1:30 p.m. PT
Where: In person only at The Athenaeum
This event is open to Caltech students, postdocs, faculty, and staff members.
The event is free but registration is required.
Postponed: Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust
Date to be announced
The Athenaeum
Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust is the Arthur Kingsley Porter University Research Professor at Harvard, where she served as president from 2007–2018. She previously served as founding dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world's leading centers for interdisciplinary exploration.
Dr. Faust is the author of seven books, including Necessary Trouble, Growing Up at Midcentury, her memoir about her childhood in conservative, segregated Virginia and her journey to become a historian of the conflicts that shaped that world. Her earlier book, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, was awarded the Bancroft Prize and the New-York Historical Society's American History Book Prize, and was recognized by The New York Times as one of the 10 Best Books of 2008.
Dr. Faust earned a B.A. in history from Bryn Mawr in 1968, followed by an MA and PhD in American civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Harvard, she joined University of Pennsylvania's faculty as a specialist in the history of the antebellum South and Civil War.
She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society of American Historians, and the American Philosophical Society. In September 2018, Dr. Faust was awarded the John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity by the Library of Congress.
Past Speakers
Dr. Katherine Fleming
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Dr. Katherine E. Fleming joined the J. Paul Getty Trust as president and CEO in 2022. An accomplished leader and internationally recognized scholar, she previously served as the provost of New York University from 2016 to 2022 and was the Alexander S. Onassis Professor of Hellenic Culture and Civilization and professor of history and Hellenic studies at NYU.
At the J. Paul Getty Trust, Dr. Fleming oversees the Getty Research Institute, an international center for the study of visual culture; the Getty Conservation Institute, which advances conservation practice; the Getty Museum, including the Getty Center in Los Angeles and Getty Villa in Malibu; and the Getty Foundation, which supports art historical scholarship, the conservation of art and architecture, increased access to museum collections and archives, and training in the visual arts.
Caltech News: Presidential Distinguished Speaker Katherine Fleming, President of the J. Paul Getty Trust, on Art and the Human Experience
Bob Iger
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Bob Iger is the CEO of The Walt Disney Company and a leader in creativity and innovation.
He has been listed as one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People, one of the "World's Most Powerful People" by Forbes magazine, and "CEO of the Year" by MarketWatch.
Dr. Michael Lomax
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Dr. Michael Lomax is a distinguished leader in politics, the arts, education, and civic engagement; the current president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF); and a leading advocate for college readiness.
Leroy (Lee) Hood (BS'60 biology; PhD'68 biochemistry), Caltech Distinguished Alumnus
Monday, April 10, 2023
A world-renowned scientist and recipient of the 2011 National Medal of Science, Dr. Leroy Hood (BS '60 Biology, PhD '68 Biochemistry, DAA ) co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in 2000 and served as its first President from 2000–2017. Currently, he is the CEO of Phenome Health and Co-Founder and Professor at the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle.