About CPET
CPET's Mission: Our goal is to help members of the Caltech community become effective educators through an improved understanding of pedagogy by providing seminars on best practices and practical training and teaching resources on campus. We are a group of Caltech community members dedicated to improving our own teaching skills and helping others do the same.
Each year we plan a teaching seminar series that includes talks by the best professors at Caltech and other local universities on topics including: how to design courses, teaching tips, improving presentation skills, and outreach and mentorship (previous seminars). Some seminars are recorded by CPET and posted to YouTube where they can edify the local community for years to come (video list).
CPET also administers two certificate programs for the Caltech community, the Certificate of Interest and the Certificate of Practice in University Teaching. The Certificate of Interest provides students with an introduction to teaching pedagogy and best practices, while the Certificate of Practice allows students to improve their teaching skills with the support of CPET and CTLO. More details can be found of the Certificate home page.
CPET has also originated a Library collection on teaching books and professional development books at the Caltech library. These books range in topics from the best presentation of quantitative information to research based tips for teaching (full list of library books). Email CPET if you would like to recommend additions to the CPET library collection.
GET INVOLVED
Mailing List
If you are interested in receiving announcements about CPET events, please sign up for the CPET mailing list.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about CPET and ways to get involved feel free to email us at cpet@caltech.edu.
Clara Seo
Clara Seo is a second-year PhD student in Chemistry, working under Professor Karthish Manthiram. Her research focuses on the directed evolution of electroactive bacteria to interrogate and enhance the extracellular electron transfer phenomena. Clara holds a BA in Chemistry and Statistics from Amherst College, where her liberal arts education placed a strong emphasis on the quality and joys of teaching and mentorship. This experience deeply shaped her commitment to teaching. Over the years, she has taught everything from inorganic chemistry and data science to Taekwondo and EMT-B skills. Now, as CPET Co-Director, Clara is excited to bring her creativity to CPET programming, support her peers through their teaching journeys, and grow with the Caltech community.
Jaeden Bardati
Jaeden Bardati is a second-year Physics PhD student in the TAPIR group, working under Professor Philip Hopkins. His research focuses on how supermassive black holes grow and influence their host galaxies, predicting observable multi-wavelength signatures of accretion and mergers to inform active galactic nuclei models and gravitational-wave follow-up strategies. While completing his BSc at Bishop’s University, a small primarily undergraduate institution, Jaeden discovered a passion for teaching through tutoring and outreach, inspired by the impactful teachers and mentors who shaped his early academic path. Since then, he has TAed over ten courses across mathematics, physics, and astronomy, and has mentored several undergraduate students. As CPET Co-Director, Jaeden is excited to help foster an evidence-based teaching community at Caltech and to cultivate an environment where teaching is approached with the same curiosity and rigor as research.
Past CPET Co-Directors: Meredith, Hooper, Kimberly Golubeva, Emile Oshima, Matthew Langley, Harrison Parker, Olivia Wilkins, Daniel Martin, Rebekah Silva, Kelsey Boyle, Daniel Thomas, Noelle Stiles, Labeed Ben-Galy, Elisa Franco