And as a computer science student in the field's very early days, Lewis enjoyed programming at a time that no one else wanted to use the University's scarce computer resources--from 3 to 6 a.m.

Illingworth's personal habits are strange in the opposite way--he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to pay his bills and write letters and is already in his University Hall office between 6:30 and 7 a.m.

Illingworth grew up in a mill town where the mill ran 24 hours a day, and he says he feels for people who--either by choice or necessity--feel the need to work at night and sleep during the day.

He suggests looking into extending the hours of other buildings as well, such as classrooms or libraries.

Plants says Lamont Library might be a logical venue for a 24-hour experiment.

But not everyone is convinced that Harvard should go on all night.

"I would be surprised if we pushed [MAC and library hours] to be 24/7, but I think it's conceivable to have facilities open a little later," says Thomas A. Dingman, associate dean of the College.