Empowering students to reach their full potential as scientific innovators is the cornerstone of Valerie and Jeffrey "Jeff" Engle's philanthropy. Ian Johnson (Class of '24), the inaugural Sleep & Engle Scholar is already making contributions in his field.

With aspirations of becoming an astrophysicist, Johnson is interested in the origin of the universe's heaviest elements, including lead, gold, and uranium. The current leading theory is that most were formed in neutron star mergers. These are rare cosmic events—only one has been detected to date—that can be observed through gravitational waves as well as kilonovae, the transient, bright blasts of light and heat emitted when the stars collide and merge.

Last summer, the physics student analyzed star HD 222925, whose 65 identified elements include 42 heavier than iron, with the goal of reconstructing the light curve of the kilonova that contributed to its formation. His findings contribute to the growing body of work on retroactive observations of kilonovae.

"Normally, getting to the forefront of science requires a lot of luck," Johnson says, "but with Caltech, the edge of human knowledge is at my doorstep—the only barrier is my hard work!"

The Engles' support also freed Johnson to pursue interests outside the classroom and lab. An avid runner, rock climber, and reader, he is grateful for the Engles' generosity in enabling him to make the most of his time at Caltech and easing the financial burden of a university education for his family.

"For anyone qualified to get into Caltech, money should not be a deterrent," Valerie Engle says. "The way we see it, Caltech students are a good investment."