Moments after eight seniors in an honors research course introduced themselves, Thorp rattled their names back at them. He went 8 for 8, an old classroom habit from his days teaching chemistry.

"Every class I've ever taught under 100 people, I've gotten every name down," he recounted afterward.

Monday's appearance at Chapel Hill High kicked off a weeklong tour of North Carolina during which Thorp will visit four high schools and seven UNC system campuses in something of a goodwill tour. He is flying the UNC flag across the state, talking up its various programs with prospective students while dining many evenings with regional alumni groups. Today he'll visit West Charlotte High School, meet fellow chancellors at UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina A & T University, and dine with alums in Greensboro.

The tour concludes Monday with a visit to Fayetteville State University and a drop-in at Thorp's alma mater, Terry Sanford High School, also in Fayetteville. It is being heavily promoted by the university, which invites local media to each stop. Monday's event had some staging to it; 16 media members crowded the science classroom, notepads at the ready, cameras and microphones aimed at the students and their teacher, Tom Herndon.

There were 10 cameras trained on the eight students.

Even with all the extra attention, Thorp and the students fell into a relatively easy banter. These were students who, by nature of geography, are already quite familiar with UNC. One of the wore a Tar Heel T-shirt; before the bell rang to end the class period, all eight had new Tar Heel tees, courtesy of Thorp and Student Stores.

Swag aside, students said they were impressed with the visit and a wide-ranging discussion of Thorp's background and the university's goals. Thorp pointed to several of UNC's known strengths in undergraduate education -- the hard sciences, research opportunities and the study abroad program. One student taking advanced German at the high school asked whether it would be possible to do science research in Germany.

"We've got people who would be eager to work that out," Thorp told him. "Going abroad to study in a foreign lab would be an awesome experience. I wish I had done that."

Thorp asked the students what they were looking for in a college. One replied that he wanted a wide range of experiences.

"That's our favorite answer," Thorp responded.

Jennifer Kuefferis applying to UNC and about a half-dozen others. Thorp's appearance in her class this week made an impression.

"Knowing he takes the time to talk to us shows he's interested in the future," she said. "I think it's really inspirational that he came in."

Stephen Farmer, UNC-CH's undergraduate admissions director, is tagging along all week. Thorp's presence in the state's high schools should make the recruiting job a bit easier, Farmer said.

"It's helpful for students to know that undergraduate education is important enough that the person in charge is putting the time and effort into what we're doing," he said.