#SoCaltech: Brendan Bubion

“I grew up in Southern California and went to Upland High School where I had a teacher who encouraged my passion for filmmaking. I got introduced to Caltech in 2009 during the National History Day competition, when I made a documentary about longitude and the invention of the marine chronometer with a few classmates. We interviewed two faculty members who are still here— Jed Buchwald [the Doris and Henry Dreyfuss Professor of History] and Mordechai Feingold [the Kate Van Nuys Page Professor of the History of Science and the Humanities]. That was my first time on campus, and I didn’t realize that this high school assignment would be the first of many projects about Caltech faculty.

In 2024, I joined Caltech as a senior video producer. As a member of the Academic Media Technologies team, we feature individuals and divisions across Caltech, whether we are capturing an event, celebrating research, or covering prize winners. We use all of the tools at our disposal to bring their stories to life.

Documentary filmmaking is about the relationships you build, whether it’s spending a few hours or many months with someone. You get to know them and see what drives them. Here, whether it’s interviewing a faculty member, student, or researcher, we get to explore the deeper layers of their passion and how it connects to their work. It’s about finding what their story says about the world around us.”

Brendan Bubion recently joined Caltech as a senior video producer with the Academic Media Technologies (AMT) team. On July 27, he received a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for his work as the lead producer of the Weekly Arts series for KCET/PBS SoCal.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.