Home  /  About  /  News  /  Caltech Names and Celebrates Its 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients The Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award (DAA) is the highest honor the Institute bestows upon a graduate. The DAAs are given in recognition of "a particular achievement, a series of such achievements, or a career of noteworthy accomplishment." The members of the 2026 class of DAAs—first announced at Caltech's 89th Annual Seminar Day on May 16—join the 280 individuals who have been named since the award's inception in 1966. They are Leonidas Guibas (BS '71, MS '71), Eddy W. Hartenstein (MS '74), Shouleh Nikzad (MS '84, PhD '90), and David Van Essen (BS '67) . "The 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients demonstrate the impressive achievements that are possible when visionary imagination is coupled with a Caltech education," says Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum, the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of physics.…