#SoCaltech: Mory Gharib

“My first exposure to the medical field was a challenge from my brother when I was in 11th grade. He was a pediatric surgeon, and he challenged me to think of a shunt for hydrocephalus, which is when the pressure in the brain goes up. For children, it causes some problems, and you have to drain that extra fluid. So, I started to think about that. It took me 30 years to come up with a solution. And actually my brother and I have a patent on that one. It's a little pump that is small enough to be implanted without interfering with the brain's function. When I got to Caltech, people really encouraged me to learn the embryonic development of the heart and human body. And that was, for me, an aha moment. I've benefited from having colleagues who are willing to work with you and educate you about things that we think we know, but maybe we don't. My colleagues’ generosity helped me to understand and appreciate the physiology of life.”

—Mory Gharib (PhD ’83) is the Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Medical Engineering, the director and Booth-Kresa Leadership Chair of the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST), and director of GALCIT in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science. You can now watch his March 1, 2023, Watson Lecture, “Enigma of the Heart” online. To view other Watson Lectures, visit Caltech’s YouTube channel.

#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.