You'll have no difficulty recognizing Pupin Hall -- it's the only building with an observatory on its roof. With all the light pollution, however, Manhattan isn't the best place for star gazing, but the two telescopes on Pupin are used for teaching and public outreach.
Columbia graduate students, however, have access the two large telescopes at MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak in Arizona. Along with Columbia, this powerful observatory shares its facilities with Dartmouth, Ohio State, the University of Michigan, and Ohio University.
Pupin Hall is home to Columbia's Physics and Astronomy Departments. The building's greatest claim to fame dates back to 1939 when George Pegram split a uranium atom in the basement. The Manhattan Project and development of the atomic bomb grew out of those experiments.
