Caltech Welcomes Incoming Students and "Ignites" Excitement for the 2026–27 Academic Year

On Friday, September 25, Caltech formally welcomed its newest class of scholars, including 255 undergraduate students, 173 graduate students, and 40 postdoctoral scholars, at a Convocation ceremony in Beckman Auditorium that marked two beginnings at once. “I am a first-year, too, at the beginning of my own Caltech journey,” President Ray Jayawardhana told the audience in his first Convocation welcome address as the Institute’s Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of astronomy. Speaking as a fellow newcomer, Jayawardhana borrowed words of advice from Douglas Adams’ The Hit