The California Institute of Technology or Caltech is a private research
university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Although founded as
a preparatory and vocational school
by Amos G. Throop in 1891, the college attracted influential scientists
such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes, and Robert Andrews Millikan in
the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded
and spun off in 1910, and the college assumed its present name in 1921. In
1934, Caltech was elected to the Association of American Universities, and the
antecedents ofNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech continues to
manage and operate, were established between 1936 and 1943 under Theodore von
Kármán. The university is one among a small group of Institutes of Technology
in the United States which tends to be primarily devoted to the instruction of
technical arts and applied sciences.
Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphasis on science and
engineering, managing $332 million in 2011 in sponsored research. Its 124-acre
(50 ha) primary campus is located approximately 11 mi (18 km) northeast of
downtown Los Angeles. First-year students are required to live on campus, and
95% of undergraduates remain in the on-campus house system. Although Caltech
has a strong tradition of practical jokes and pranks, student life is governed
by an honor code which allows faculty to assign take-home examinations. The
Caltech Beavers compete in 13 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division III's
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Caltech is frequently cited as one of the world's best universities.
Despite its small size, 33 Caltech alumni and faculty have won a total of 34
Nobel Prizes (Linus Pauling being the only individual in history to win two
unshared prizes) and 71 have won the United States National Medal of Science or
Technology. There are 112 faculty members who have been elected to the National
Academies. In addition, numerous faculty members are associated with the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute as well as NASA.
