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<\/a><\/figure>Ray Jayawardhana begins his tenure today as the 10th president of the California Institute of Technology. His selection as Caltech\u2019s president, and as the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of astronomy, was announced Jan. 6. Jayawardhana succeeds Thomas Rosenbaum, who had served as Caltech\u2019s president since 2014.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1891, Caltech manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. The lab traces its origins to 1936, when a group of Caltech graduate students and other rocket enthusiasts began pioneering work in rocket propulsion. Once NASA was established in 1958, JPL became the space agency\u2019s first and only federally funded research and development center.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, I\u2019m honored to begin my service as Caltech\u2019s 10th president,\u201d Jayawardhana wrote in his first message to the Caltech community. \u201cLong before this day appeared on the horizon, Caltech and JPL have held a special place in my mind as beacons of humanity\u2019s most ambitious acts of exploration and discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Jayawardhana said he will be a fierce advocate for the Institute\u2019s mission and the people who advance it, partnering with Caltech and JPL colleagues and other stakeholders to ensure the Institute will continue to have transformative impact on humanity. He also said he aims to pursue bold, catalytic investments in \u201cblue-sky\u201d ideas on campus, at JPL, and across the Institute\u2019s suite of global observatories; enrich the educational experience of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars; and expand the Institute\u2019s engagement with the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Jayawardhana steps into this role at a pivotal moment for Caltech, JPL, and NASA,\u201d said Dave Gallagher, director of JPL. \u201cWe look forward to working closely with him on missions that will help define a new era of U.S. exploration \u2014 extending humanity\u2019s reach into the solar system, unlocking extraordinary scientific discovery, and inspiring future generations to dare mighty things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jayawardhana comes to Caltech from Johns Hopkins University, where as provost he oversaw the university\u2019s 10 schools as well as an expansive portfolio of interdisciplinary programs, academic centers, and core administrative and operational units.<\/p>\n
Prior to Johns Hopkins, he served as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Hans A. Bethe Professor and professor of astronomy at Cornell University. Earlier in his career, he was on the faculty at the University of Toronto, where he held a Canada Research Chair and served as senior adviser on science engagement to the university\u2019s president. Jayawardhana earned his Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University and a B.S. in astronomy and physics from Yale University.<\/p>\n
A pioneering astrophysicist, Jayawardhana investigates the origin and evolution of planets and planetary systems, as well as the formation of stars and brown dwarfs. Using the largest telescopes on the ground (including the W. M. Keck Observatory, which Caltech co-manages with the University of California) and in space (especially NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope), he and his collaborators use remote sensing to characterize planets outside our solar system, or exoplanets, with an eye toward assessing the prospects for life beyond Earth. He is a core science team member for the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph instrument aboard the Webb telescope, and his research group has led Gemini Observatory large programs on high-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanetary atmospheres.<\/p>\n
Jayawardhana will continue his research alongside his presidential responsibilities as a Caltech professor of astronomy in the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime and again, I\u2019ve been struck not only by the audacity and brilliance of the work underway here, but also by this community of creative and original thinkers who seem constitutionally incapable of leaving the hardest questions unanswered,\u201d Jayawardhana wrote in his note to the Caltech and JPL community.<\/p>\n
The appointment marks a return to an early source of inspiration for the astrophysicist. Growing up as a self-described \u201cspace-obsessed kid\u201d in Sri Lanka, Jayawardhana wrote to JPL asking for images from NASA\u2019s Voyager and Viking missions (JPL manages Voyager and played a major role in Viking). A few weeks later, a package arrived at his childhood home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still remember the thrill of finding the manila envelope waiting for me \u2026 with the unmistakable JPL logo,\u201d he recalled in remarks to the JPL community in January. Inside was a viewbook filled with images of Jupiter and Saturn. \u201cHolding it in my hands, I felt a rush of amazement, as if I were sharing in the grand quest to explore other worlds despite growing up in a remote corner of this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, as Caltech\u2019s president, that childhood inspiration has come full circle. \u201cAs an astrophysicist, I have the deepest respect for JPL\u2019s enduring contributions to humanity\u2019s quest to explore the solar system and beyond. And as Caltech\u2019s president, I\u2019m excited to work alongside you in that quest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Media Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n Matthew Segal 2026-041<\/p>\n
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-8307
matthew.j.segal@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nExplore More<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n