Central University Library in La Jolla

The University of California, San Diego is one of the major teaching and research institutions in the United States. It is internationally recognized for work in the physical, biological and social sciences, the humanities and the arts, engineering, medicine and oceanography.

Although the university traces its roots to a team of Berkeley zoologists who set up a summer marine station in 1903 (which became Scripps institution of Oceanography), it was not until 1964 that the first 181 undergraduates began their studies in three newly completed high-rise buildings and in barracks and Quonset huts left behind by the Navy. Today, more than 2,000 eminent scholars, including five Nobel laureates, teach over 14,000 students in specialized programs and departments. UCSD's main campus now extends over 1,936 verdant acres in northern La Jolla. Its links and contributions to the community are significant. UCSD provides local industry with highly trained personnel and the opportunity to update the skills of current employees. Its calendar flows with artistic and cultural events, and the campus serves as a rich educational and informational resource for the community at large.

Hovering for all the world like on intelligence-stocked spaceship from another planet is the Central University Library, which was designed by William L. Pereira Associates to convey the idea that powerful hands are holding aloft knowledge itself. Featured in Time magazine for its unique design, the impressive structure is the flagship of a fleet of UCSD research libraries that house approximately 1,800,000 volumes.