The Watson lectures are a monthly series at Caltech in which a professor shares their current research with the community. The lectures have been taking place for more than 100 years.

On Wednesday, January 22, 2026, nine SPHS juniors and seniors participated in the Junior Watson Program, organized by Caltech's Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach. During this experience, students had the opportunity to hear about student life at Caltech, visit the research labs of the Watson lecture professor, enjoy a meal at the Athenaeum, and listen to the featured Watson lecture delivered by Dr. Francois Tissot on the topic "Lead Contamination: An Old Foe Rises from the Ashes of the Eaton Fire.” 

Before the lecture, the students toured Dr. Tissot’s research labs, where they examined a clean chemistry lab used to isolate research specimens and a mass spectrometry lab that determines the isotopic composition of a sample. 

SPHS junior Batia Lou said, "Before the Junior Watson lecture, I never realized how interconnected different disciplines of science were. Seeing how geochemistry lab techniques could help diagnose heavy metal poisoning really inspired me to explore avenues of science other than just biology."

Thank you to science teacher Ben Ku for leading and advising the students.

Go, Tigers!

For more information, contact: South Pasadena Unified School District, [email protected].