COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: LAMONT CAMPUS

Forty minutes north of the frenetic Morningside campus on the west side of the Hudson sits the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. A woodsy estate donated by an alumna in 1948, Lamont looks more like a pastoral vacation house than a place of serious research. But this institution produces world-class research on the effect of climate change on the atmosphere and maps out earthquake fault lines on the ocean floor, among other scientific feats. Researchers from Lamont have even collaborated with Google to create undersea digital tours! Free shuttle bus service connects Lamont to Morningside’s campus.