timeshighereducation.co.uk - How does a tiny institution create such outsized impact? I always refer to Caltech’s small size as being very similar to the size effect that exists in materials - there are special properties that exist when you are extremely small If one were to reduce the story of the California Institute of Technology to numbers, it would be difficult to know where to start. It is 123 years old, boasts 57 recipients of the US National Medal of Science and 32 Nobel laureates among its faculty and alumni (including five on the current staff).