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Support HSS Research & Programs

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The T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience (SDN) is one of five interdisciplinary research centers within the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech. Scholars affiliated with the Chen SDN Center study how human brains make decisions as individuals, and in groups and during collective action, where knowledge and actions of other people influence how the brain computes social influence. The Caltech Brain Imaging Center is an indispensable component of this research into the fundamental mechanisms behind the mind and behavior.
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Among its many initiatives, The Linde Institute encompasses the interdisciplinary Center for Theoretical and Experimental Social Sciences (CTESS), which combines methods from economic theory, decision theory, experimental economics, game theory, and political science, and the Center for Social Information Sciences (CSIS), in which researchers study the interactions between economics and computer science and train the next generation to reason about this interface. As of 2024, The Linde Institute also is affiliated with the Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP), formerly known as the Caltech Center for Science, Society, and Public Policy (CSSPP).
RIHST conference July 2021
As its name implies, the Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology (RIHST) at Caltech and The Huntington focuses on researching the history of science and technology. This collaboration between HSS and The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens aims to make the most of what each institute is best at: Caltech's expertise in science and The Huntington's extensive historical archives and status as a premiere research library. Among its initiatives, RIHST brings in visiting scholars to engage in important conversations, such as the institute's conference on "Rich Rocks, the Climate Crisis, and the Tech Imperium" in 2021 (pictured above).
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The Hixon Writing Center helps students learn to communicate their ideas to diverse audiences. It offers students one-to-one writing support from professional and peer tutors as well as writing workshops to ensure their short- and long-term success. The Hixon Writing Center also supports student learning of writing by partnering with academic divisions and individual faculty to improve courses and revamp curricula. In supporting writers across the curriculum at Caltech, the Hixon Writing Center aims to ensure the next generation of STEM experts can share their ideas in clear and compelling ways.

Discovery Funds

Discovery funds enable the HSS division chair to initiate seed funding for time-sensitive, high-risk/high-reward research ideas and innovative educational programs that might otherwise not be pursued due to a lack of available funds. Some of the division's most successful programs can trace their origins to a single injection of such well-timed, flexible private support.

Discovery funds, both endowed and expendable use, provide a crucial complement to traditional research funding. One discovery fund can support the early stages of a host of projects, in some cases more than 10 years sooner than a traditional grant might. Because they bridge the gap between inspiration and preliminary proof of concept, these relatively small infusions of seed funding can and do lead to groundbreaking outcomes.

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