Bell Labs was not just about telco stuff, it was quite a revolutionary R&D unit in many ways. Seems to me a lot of people who worked there either did - or could

Bell Labs was not just about telco stuff, it was quite a revolutionary R&D unit in many ways. Seems to me a lot of people who worked there either did - or could have - worked at MIT, Stanford, Berkley, etc. A read of the Wikipedia page [1] shows just how varied the research there was, but I'm not sure it's up there today so perhaps it's slipped from our minds. One interesting thing I found out about the place is that I believe some university faculties have tried to model their research buildings on the physical layout of Bell Labs: everybody gets an office, but common areas are lengthy corridors away, meaning there is a good chance of serendipity and meeting colleagues when you're not heads-down. I have a hazy recollection this is how MIT built one of their newer buildings, but can't find a source for it now. And yes, you're right, the kit looks beautiful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs