The first stop today was Caltech, which Peter later described as the coolest place on Earth. To encourage networking, Jet Propulsion Laboratories employees get free access to the college fitness center. Instead of internships or coops with commercial interests, Caltech students do SURFs (summer undergraduate research fellowships), about a quarter of them at JPL about five miles away. The focus is not on making money, but on pushing discoveries in science and as training for future academic careers. Caltech is a small campus and packed about as tight as it can be. There is no quad. Craig reported that Caltech is also the wealthiest campus he has ever seen. All the buildings are in excellent shape. And those that are not get torn down and rebuilt. Many corners of the campus are under construction. In the photo above, you can see the trees behind the wall are in wood planters, a temporary location until they get moved to their new home.
The second college the boys toured is a very small -- 720 students -- engineering and science school. It's ranked in the top five in the country on a number of lists. But after Caltech, Peter was not impressed.The carrot has been dangled ... it remains to be seen if it has a lasting effect.
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