Upcoming Events
September 25, 2025, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.: "Insights on the Present and Future of Scientific Research Writing and Publishing" Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief, Science Family of Journals - A Fireside Chat with Dr. Holden Thorp
Join us for a fireside chat with Holden Thorp focused on the current state and possible futures of scientific research writing and publishing. Our aim is 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. Thorp understands writing about scientific research from both the authors' and the editors' sides of the process. After earning his Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech, his work as a researcher led to success in his faculty roles at the University of North Carolina and Washington University, as well as in industry through his cofounding of Viamet Pharmaceuticals. As Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals, a role he has held since 2019, he oversees a suite of the most impactful academic journals, including Science, Science Advances, Science Immunology, Science Robotics, Science Signaling, and Science Translational Medicine. Dr. Thorp will speak with Susanne Hall, Director of Caltech's Hixon Writing Center and Teaching Professor of Writing. Questions from the audience will also be invited. This event is for Caltech Community Members.
Past Events
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.