California Institute of Technology

Founded in 1891 as Throop University, Caltech is a private research university located in Pasadena, California. It was renamed the California Institute of Technology in 1920. Caltech is renowned for its strong emphasis on science and engineering, and it's home to some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools. The institute manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA, operates large-scale research facilities like the Seismological Laboratory and the Palomar and W. M. Keck Observatories, and co-manages LIGO, which first observed gravitational waves in 2016. Caltech is known for its rigorous curriculum and hands-on research opportunities, with a student-to-faculty ratio of about 3:1.Caltech has produced numerous Nobel laureates and National Medal of Science recipients, and its faculty and alumni have made significant contributions to fields such as space research, sustainability science, quantum physics, and seismology.