Students gather in the wee hours in the East Campus dorm hall. “People all over MIT stay up all night and build crazy things,” says Jenny Hu (center, with sketch pad). Next to her, brothers Jason (face obscured) and Vincent Chen crack their laptops while Damon Vander Lind and Danny Shen wire a motor. “Built into this place is so much competition,” says Natan Cliffer, making music with a water bottle. “You need people’s help to succeed.”