ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Ray Jayawardhana named president of Caltech
Jayawardhana was appointed by Caltech's Board of Trustees as the tenth president in the institute's 105-year history.
-
Rwittika Chakraborty
- Mon, 19, Jan 2026
- 03:36 EST
- 16
Johns Hopkins University provost, Ray Jayawardhana. / Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University provost Ray Jayawardhana has been appointed the next president of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and will assume his role there effective July 1.
Jayawardhana was appointed by Caltech's Board of Trustees as the tenth president in the institute's 105-year history on Jan. 6 at a community-wide gathering on the Pasadena campus.
ALSO READ: Johns Hopkins names Sanjay Desai vice dean of med school
He succeeds Thomas F. Rosenbaum, Caltech's ninth president, who has served in the role since 2014.
Speaking about his appointment and upcoming role at Caltech, Jayawardhana told the institute,
"I am deeply honored to have been selected as Caltech's tenth president and to join this remarkable community of trailblazers.”
"My commitment is to stay true to Caltech's North Star of fundamental research and exploration integrated deeply with education, while strengthening this community's ability to pursue, share, and apply knowledge and innovations that serve and inspire humanity," he added.
Jayawardhana also mentioned that at Caltech, he will partner with faculty and other stakeholders to advance bold, catalytic investments in innovative ventures on campus, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and across the Institute's suite of global observatories.
He also plans on enriching the experience of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, and expanding the Institute's engagement with the public.
Jayawardhana, a scientist and academic leader, came to Johns Hopkins in October 2023 from Cornell University, where he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Hans A. Bethe Professor, and professor of astronomy.
During his tenure as JHU provost, Jayawardhana continued his research on exoplanets and the origins of stars, planets, and brown dwarfs, and served as a science team member for the James Webb Space Telescope's Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument.
Prior to his time at Cornell, he was dean of the Faculty of Science at York University in Toronto, following 10 years on the faculty at the University of Toronto, where he held a Canada Research Chair.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login