Courtesy of Caltech
Since 1922, Caltech’s Watson Lecture Series has invited the public to join in the excitement of discovery and innovation by hearing directly from Caltech scientists and engineers who are tackling society’s most pressing challenges and inventing the technologies of the future. Now in its 102nd season, the series aims to foster a community of curiosity with a diverse lineup of speakers and engaging activities.
Free and open to the public, the Watson Lectures offer a new opportunity each month to connect with the forefront of Caltech research. Before each lecture, guests are invited to enjoy food, drinks, and music together outside Beckman Auditorium, and to explore interactive displays related to the evening’s topic.
Scenes from the Watson Lecture Preshow
“Caltech is the place you come to ask fundamental questions about science and our world,” says science communicator and Caltech alum Crystal Dilworth (PhD ‘14) who hosts the Watsons and moderates a question-and-answer session following each lecture. “It is inspiring, month after month, to see hundreds of people visiting campus to appreciate and explore new topics and ideas,” she says.
The 2024–25 season will open on October 23 with a lecture by Bil Clemons, Caltech’s Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Biochemistry. Clemons will highlight his lab’s work in structural biology and explain how viruses can help fight bacterial infections. Later talks will discuss the effects of climate change on Arctic rivers, the Europa Clipper mission to investigate one of Jupiter’s largest moons, how to harness the power of microbes for human and environmental health, and much more.
“The remarkable scientists and engineers who will share their work as part of this year’s Watson season offer the public a unique glimpse into some of the most intriguing and important questions of our time,” says John Eiler, Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry, and a member of the Institute Programs Committee, which oversees the Watsons. “We’re pleased to carry forward a century-long tradition of connecting the community to the cutting-edge of research and discovery.”
Originally known as the “Friday Evening Demonstration Lectures,” the series was started by Earnest C. Watson, a professor of physics at Caltech from 1919 to 1959, to help foster a greater appreciation among the public for the impact of fundamental research. For the talks, Watson would stand in front of a packed lecture hall to deliver his famed “liquid-air” demonstration, in which he would open a bottle of air that had been cooled to minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and the contents would appear to “boil” out of the bottle and engulf Watson in white fumes.
Eventually renamed in his honor, the Watson Lectures continue to spotlight pathbreaking Caltech research. Read more about the legacy of Earnest C. Watson in Caltech Magazine.
A full listing of this season’s events is available on the series webpage.
