Kaushik Bhattacharya is Howell N. Tyson, Sr., Professor of Mechanics and Professor of Materials Science as well as the Vice-Provost at the California Institute of Technology. He received his B.Tech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India in 1986, his Ph.D from the University of Minnesota in 1991 and his post-doctoral training at the Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences during 1991-1993. He joined Caltech in 1993. His research concerns the mechanical behavior of solids, and specifically uses theory to guide the development of new materials. His honors include von Kármán Medal of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (2019), Outstanding Achievements Award from the University of Minnesota (2018), the Warner T. Koiter Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (2015) and Graduate Student Council Teaching and Mentoring Award at Caltech (2013). He served as editor of the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids from 2004-2015.