Caltech

Rudolph A. (Rudy) Marcus, Caltech's John G. Kirkwood and Arthur A. Noyes Professor of Chemistry, passed away on July 16, 2026. The prolific chemist, who approached theory with infinite curiosity and the background of an experimentalist, was five days shy of his 103rd birthday.

Marcus was awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his theoretical work on electron transfer among molecules in chemical reactions, a concept that lies at the heart of phenomena ranging from the slow encroachments of rust to the rapid reactions of photosynthesis. In neither case do any of the atoms rearrange; only the electrons are in motion. The Marcus theory explains why electrons in various settings behave so differently.

Read more: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-mourns-the-passing-of-nobel-laureate-rudy-marcus-19232026

Quantum Zeitgeist has featured Caltech’s John Preskill, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair, Institute for Quantum Science and Technology.

Preskill began his career working on particle physics and cosmology, then shifted in the mid-90s toward quantum information science.

In his listed biography, it is noted that he has “done more than almost anyone to give quantum computing its language. From his base at Caltech, he coined both quantum supremacy and the term NISQ, two phrases that now organize how researchers, companies, and journalists talk about progress.”

Read more here: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/john-preskill/

Mark B. Wise, Caltech’s John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics, passed away on July 10, 2026. He was 72.

Wise, a particle physicist whose research focused on the fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions, played a key role in the development of the heavy quark effective theory (HQET), a formalism that has allowed physicists to make precise predictions in the study of strong nuclear interactions—the most powerful of the fundamental forces of nature.

PrismML, a Caltech spinoff based on technology developed at Caltech, aims to build a new paradigm for AI—making models that are efficient enough to run locally.

The company is in talks with Apple to drastically reduce its reliance on the cloud and run heavyweight AI entirely on-device.

Originally reported by The Information, PrismML’s successfully compressed Alibaba’s 27-billion-parameter open-source Qwen 3.6 model, is set to run locally on an iPhone 17 Pro.

Learn more about this through the link in our story.

Julie Messersmith, a strategic leader with deep experience advancing research universities’ most critical priorities, joined Caltech on July 1, 2026, as the Institute's new vice president for institute initiatives.
Read more here: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-appoints-julie-messersmith-as-vice-president-for-institute-initiatives