Remarks by President-Elect Ray Jayawardhana to the Caltech Community

January 6, 2026

Thank you, Dave and Jonas, for that warm welcome and for your generous words.

Thank you to the Search and Selection Committees 
for your dedication and hard work over many months.

And thank you to the Board of Trustees. 
I am humbled by the confidence you have placed in me.

I also want to recognize President Rosenbaum for his tremendous leadership—a tough act to follow, to say the least! 


I'm delighted that my wife Kathryn and our two children are here 
– they mean the world to me. 




There's a T.S. Eliot quote that has stuck with me since about age 14:

"We shall not cease from exploration.
And the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time."

I first read those lines, not in a collection of poetry, 
but in an oversized viewbook from a NASA facility in California called the Jet Propulsion Lab. 


Perhaps some of you have heard of it?

As a space-obsessed kid growing up in Sri Lanka in the 1980s, (about as far from mission control as you could get) I had typed up an earnest request on a light-blue aerogramme,
(anyone remember those?)
asking for images of the outer planets taken by Voyagers 1 and 2.

For weeks, I rushed home from school, hoping for a response.

I still remember the thrill of finding a large manila envelope waiting for me one day, 
with the unmistakable JPL logo.

Inside, there was a viewbook, 
with dozens of spectacular images of Jupiter and Saturn, and their moons and rings.

Holding it in my hands, 
I felt a rush of amazement, 
as if I were sharing in a grand quest to explore other worlds, 
despite growing up in a remote corner of this one.

The younger version of me looking at those photographs, 
and encountering Eliot's words placed among them,
could not possibly have imagined 
that one day my own path of exploration would lead me here—to the very source of those alien vistas that sparked my imagination. 
That memory tells you a little bit about me, 
but it speaks much more to Caltech's extraordinary global reach and impact—how your accomplishments and contributions to humanity 
inspire and attract people from across the globe, 
including a kid in Colombo dreaming about worlds near and far.

I can think of no greater privilege or joy 
than to be a part of this intrepid community that continues to push at the edges of what we know.

I am deeply honored and incredibly excited to join you, 
and to serve as Caltech's 10th president.


While the details of that story are personal to me, 
the spark of curiosity that animates it is universal here.

That spark may take a different form for each of us, 
but it's what has long made Caltech a magnet for exceptional people from across America and around the world,
here on campus, at JPL and at the observatories—as well as a global network of alumni—creating a rare concentration of excellence and ambition united by the urgency to explore fundamental questions.

Across my many conversations throughout the search process, 
the same defining strengths shone through—a relentless commitment to curiosity-driven research and to transformative innovation, 
pursued with daring and rigor—and a shared belief that each person here contributes something essential 
to Caltech's enterprise. 
My role, as I see it, is to steward that curiosity at scale, to harness the power of bold ideas and support the people who pursue them.

Above all, my focus will on safeguarding and amplifying what sets Caltech apart—a highly interconnected community
in which fundamental research and courageous exploration 
are deeply integrated with education—while bolstering the Institute's ability
to pursue, share, and apply discoveries that serve and inspire humanity.


Of course, none of this happens in isolation. 
Caltech's work has always been in conversation with challenges of its time. 
And today, we're navigating a rapidly shifting landscape.

Uncertainty in funding, the erosion of public trust in expertise, 
and rapid technological, political, and economic change 
are reshaping how knowledge is created, shared and utilized.

Here at Caltech, those pressures have been compounded by profound loss locally, 
most notably by the devastation of last year's fires, 
whose impacts are still felt deeply in our midst.

And yet, everything I know about Caltech confirms this community is at its best 
when the questions are hardest and the path forward is unclear.

As daunting as today's challenges are, 
I also see the current moment as one of immense potential, 
with possibilities of a scale and pace unthinkable just a generation ago.

It is a moment that calls for Caltech's distinct contributions and leadership.

As I think about our journey ahead, I find myself returning to Eliot's words 
and to a call that feels especially fitting here and now: 
that we shall not cease from exploration.

It's only by continuing to venture into the unknown—and doing so together, with a shared sense of purpose, drawing on the full strength of this community—that we dare to advance knowledge 
and fulfill the promise of this unparalleled institution.

It will be my great honor to serve you,
to work alongside you, to learn from you, and to experience your excellence in action. 
Together we will ensure that Caltech remains 
a beacon of transformative research, innovation, and education for generations to come.

Thank you!