The Campus COVID Response One Year Later
It has been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic changed every facet of campus operations. Following are examples of how the community has continued to adapt and connect during this time.
Caltech Together is a campuswide initiative and website designed to help community members support one another during the pandemic. Members of the community can find information on testing, vaccine planning and distribution, current case activity, campus policies and preventative measures, remote teaching and learning tools, and mental health resources at together.caltech.edu.
Virtual Rotation gave first-year students a way to experience rotation from home with events tailored to the virtual setting. For soon-to-be grads, the Senior Series includes online wine tasting and an evening of Pixar films.
““The fact that a brief conversation between staff members could turn into a small but meaningful project like this that helped out the COVID response team is pretty heartwarming.” ”
New webinar series:
Conversations on COVID-19, hosted by the Caltech Science Exchange, features Caltech scientists talking about issues related to the coronavirus, such as the effectiveness of masks and vaccine development. Read more at: scienceexchange.caltech.edu/connect/conversations-covid-19.
What Matters To Me and Why, an online interview series for students, explores the paths, choices, challenges, and joys encountered as part of the personal and professional journeys of a variety of speakers from the Caltech community. Read more at: ore.caltech.edu/events/WMTMW.
Conversations with Caltech Faculty bridges the virtual gap between faculty and students with casual conversations that mimic the candid discussions that would normally happen naturally during office hours or in the hallways.
Research across campus is contributing to a more thorough understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and informing societal response to the pandemic through studies on how the virus disables cells, how models can help track its spread, and how people perceive risk during the pandemic. Some of this work has a direct impact on the on-campus response. For example, researchers are currently partnering with Facilities to implement a new trace gas technique for assessing ventilation in campus buildings. Read more at together.caltech.edu.
Testing is offered free of charge to community members experiencing symptoms. Caltech’s surveillance testing program, run in partnership with Swabseq, provides regular screening of all individuals reporting to campus or accessing campus facilities. Campus is currently operating at 25 percent capacity.
Gaetos manages Caltech Library’s Techlab. Recently, she and system administrator Ian Roberts designed and 3D-printed specimen tube collection racks as part of the campus COVID-19 surveillance testing program.
