Caltech Dedicates Booth-Kresa Aerospace Department With $50 Million Gift

Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa (Photo – Caltech)

On Wednesday, April 8, the California Institute of Technology formally dedicated its Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa Department of Aerospace during a ceremony held outside the north entrance of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory.

By News Desk

Faculty, students, and staff gathered alongside the friends and family of Trustee Lynn Booth and Life Member Kent Kresa, former chair of Caltech’s Board of Trustees, to mark the occasion. The dedication follows a $50 million gift made in late 2025 by Booth, Kresa, and their family foundations to support the department’s continued leadership in aerospace research and education.

In remarks at the event, Kresa highlighted the rapid transformation of the aerospace field, pointing to developments such as affordable drones, renewed lunar and Martian exploration, advanced robotics, and artificial intelligence. He emphasized Caltech’s role at the forefront of these advancements.

Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum said the gift strengthens the institute’s position in aerospace innovation, describing the newly named department as a “signature achievement” with future prospects that “reach to the heavens.”

Other speakers, including engineering leaders and faculty, underscored the department’s history of innovation and its impact on future technologies. Department head Sergio Pellegrino noted that the gift will enable new research directions in areas such as fluid dynamics, hypervelocity experiments, and advanced aerospace materials, as well as upgrades to experimental facilities.

The event concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a private reception and dinner featuring remarks from Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director David Gallagher.