Caltech’s annual Distinguished Alumni Awards—the highest honor the Institute bestows upon its graduates—recognize “a particular achievement of noteworthy value, a series of such achievements, or a career of noteworthy accomplishment.” The 2024 luminaries include a lauded best-selling science-fiction author and futurist; a chemist whose electron microscopy analysis revolutionized our understanding of genes and messenger RNA; a leading tech industry executive, venture capitalist, and mentor; and a chemical-sensing innovator whose research has led to life-saving discoveries.