Caltech COVID-19 Webinars

Human Impacts on the Atmosphere as Revealed by COVID-19

(June 9, 2020) - Changes in energy use, transportation, and manufacturing during the coronavirus pandemic can be connected to changes in air quality and emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Panelists from Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (which Caltech manages for NASA) discuss how this has created an experiment that can help us understand how human activity changes the environment, and guide policies for a transition to a sustainable planet.

Caltech and JPL Scientists Tackle a Pandemic

(May 26, 2020) - This forum, presented by the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall, features Caltech and JPL researchers, including Caltech president Thomas Rosenbaum, addressing questions such as: Can rocket scientists build better ventilators? How has the lack of carbon emissions due to stay at home orders really affected our environment? And what have the world’s leading biologists discovered about the immune responses to SARS CoV2, which could impact treatment and vaccine options?

Pandemics and the Economy: Lessons from History

(May 16, 2020) - Jean-Laurent Rosenthal (PhD '88), Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics and Chair of the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, puts the COVID-19 pandemic in historical context, helping to underscore an unprecedented willingness to reduce economic activity to save lives. What are the consequences of this approach for the long term? Can history help us envision our post-COVID future? This session was part of the Caltech Alumni Association's annual Seminar Day.

The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

(May 16, 2020) - David Ho (BS '74), Distinguished Alumnus and Caltech Trustee, provides an overview of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus now termed SARS-CoV-2. The prospects for science to deliver therapeutic and prophylactic solutions are also discussed. This session was part of the Caltech Alumni Association's annual Seminar Day.

Forced Exploration and the "New Normal" from COVID-19

(April 30, 2020) - Colin Camerer, Robert Kirby Professor of Behavioral Economics, T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience Leadership Chair, and Director of the T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience, explores neuroeconomics, combining the studies of economics and neuroscience to study our habits of decision making, and striving to answer the question of why we make decisions the way we do. This event is part of the Chen Institute Virtual Seminar Series.

COVID-19 and Implications for Addressing Global Crises in Health and Sustainability - Panel One

(April 23, 2020) Panelists David Baltimore, Pamela Bjorkman, Alice Huang, and Robert Phillips, with moderator Jonas Peters, discuss "Moving Forward Despite Uncertain Models by Using Science to Drive Global Action" in the first half of this event.

COVID-19 and Implications for Addressing Global Crises in Health and Sustainability - Panel Two

(April 23, 2020) Panelists Michael Alvarez and Jean-Laurent Rosenthal, with moderator Neil Fromer, discuss "Economic and Political Implications for Renewables and Climate Action" in the second half of this event.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Viruses

(April 21, 2020) - The coronavirus pandemic is what some are calling a once-in-a-century global event. To shed light on this unprecedented situation, Rob Phillips describe what viruses are, how humans become infected by them, and how they spread across continents.

The Invisible Predator: Fear and Anxiety in the Age of COVID‑19

(April 17, 2020) - Dean Mobbs, Assistant Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Chen Scholar, studies what happens in our brains when we interact with others and when we are under threat. Using brain-imaging, computational modeling and behavioral techniques, his lab is probing the neurobiological systems responsible for fear and anxiety. This event is part of the Chen Institute Virtual Seminar Series.

Introduction to Viruses, Antivirals, and Vaccines

(April 2, 2020) - Pamela Bjorkman, the David Baltimore Professor of Biology and Bioengineering, specializes in studying how the immune system reacts to viruses. In this webinar, she gives an introduction to viruses, antivirals, and vaccines in the context of SARS-CoV-2, the novel virus causing the current COVID-19 pandemic.