Remarks by President Thomas F. Rosenbaum at Caltech’s 130th Commencement Ceremony

June 14, 2024

Congratulations! You are all now graduates of the California Institute of Technology!

Your parents, siblings, loved ones, friends, and teachers have all helped you along this path of adventure and accomplishment, and they too deserve our thanks and congratulations.

You graduate at a time when change in science and technology and in society is accelerating at breakneck speed. We have the privilege today to hear the inspirational words of Jensen Huang, whose vision and company, NVIDIA, are transforming representations of the world. His own personal journey speaks to the different life perspectives that, when brought together in collaboration and colloquy, provide the powerful impetus for discovery.

With change comes responsibility. As scientists and engineers, we are trained to employ AI and machine learning across a broad spectrum of applications and to understand their potential both to improve the human condition and to cause harm. We have a responsibility not only for reflection, but for action, a responsibility to evaluate premises using data and evidence, and a responsibility to situate discovery in a broad societal context.

In his poem “Little Gidding”, T. S. Elliot speaks to us about times of transition.

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language

And next year’s words await another voice…

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from.”

Graduation is both an end and a beginning. The Caltech experience, intense and daunting as it is, provides a certain safety and comfort, within the embrace of a tight-knit community. But the world beacons. You will be entering into experiences that are rare in the pleasures they can provide and astounding in their potential. And you’ve been prepared to take full advantage of the opportunities ahead.

As you pack up your rooms, you take extraordinary possessions with you. You are fearless.

You are ready to tackle any challenge with your quantitative skills, but even more importantly, to use those skills to define new directions through distillation of the underlying principles. You are ambitious. In the best sense of the word, you seek to advance your insights and discoveries for the benefit of generations to come. You carry with you Caltech’s honor code. You’ve weighed your actions in light of the needs of others in the broadest sense of community. No matter which direction your travels take, you will be prepared to find true north.

As you embark on your new beginnings, you have the freedom to re-imagine the shape of your lives, and the directions of society. Change is manifest and inevitable, but it will not be powerful except in the context of our defining values.

Congratulations!