Events
Past Event Spotlight
Dr. Holden Thorp shares insights on the present and future of academic publishing with Caltech
On September 25, 2025, Dr. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals, spoke with Susanne Hall, Director of the Hixon Writing Center, about the current state and possible futures of scientific research writing and publishing. The aim of the fireside chat was to provide practical insights on how to succeed in writing about and publishing your own research, demystify the publishing process, and discuss new opportunities and challenges that scientists and publishers may face in the future.
Dr. Aomawa Shields visits Caltech
In Spring 2024, the Hixon Writing Center hosted a campus visit by Dr. Aomawa Shields. Dr. Shields is an astronomer, an astrobiologist, the Clare Boothe Luce Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, and a classically-trained actor. At Caltech, she read from her memoir, "Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe." She also led a writing workshop that linked restorative yoga practices to personal writing. While at Caltech, she met with undergrads, grads, and postdocs who are interested in the many, varied aspects of her research, teaching, and writing.