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Gift from Fred Kavli and The Kavli Foundation for Stanford
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology Institute
January 15, 2003
(Oxnard, Calif.) - Physicist Fred Kavli and The Kavli Foundation have pledged
a gift to establish an institute that will focus on recent developments in astrophysics,
high-energy physics and cosmology. The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics
and Cosmology will foster collaboration between the faculty from Stanford's Physics
and Applied Physics departments, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC),
which is operated by Stanford for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). A gift
pledged by Pehong and Adele Chen in 2001 will be used to name and endow the directorship
of the center.
"The research made possible by the gift of Fred Kavli will put Stanford
on the frontier of inquiry in this fascinating area of science," said University
President John Hennessy. "The institute will bring together some of the brightest
minds in particle astrophysics and cosmology and underscores the long tradition
of collaboration between the university and SLAC. Working with the Department
of Energy, NASA and the National Science Foundation, we expect great things to
happen, and we are grateful to Mr. Kavli for his vision and support."
Kavli is the founder, former chairman and CEO of Moorpark, California-based
Kavlico Corporation, one of the world's largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautics,
automotive, and industrial applications. He led the company to prominence before
selling it two years ago. He subsequently established two philanthropic entities--The
Kavli Foundation and The Kavli Operating Institute--that are committed to supporting
research for the benefit of humanity. The Kavli Foundation, which is based in
Oxnard, is dedicated to supporting fundamental scientific research in the areas
of cosmology, nanoscience and brain science. The Kavli Institute for Theoretical
Physics at the University of California Santa Barbara is named for Mr. Kavli in
recognition of a gift from The Kavli Foundation and The Kavli Institute. The Kavli
Institute is also supporting the Cosmic Background Imager at the California Institute
of Technology.
"I am pleased to help sponsor the Kavli Astrophysics and Cosmology Institute
since I believe that with the resources of Stanford University and SLAC and under
the expert leadership of Roger Blandford and Steven Kahn, we will expand our knowledge
and make new discoveries," said Kavli. "The merging of expertise and
resources in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology has exciting future
potential."
The institute's focal point, a 25,000 square foot building on the SLAC site
that includes workspace for 90 people, laboratory space and an auditorium, will
be completed in 2005. The building will be named for Kavli.
Astrophysicist Roger Blandford will serve as director of the institute and
will be the first holder of the Pehong and Adele Chen Chair of Particle Astrophysics
and Cosmology. Steven Kahn, a physics professor at Columbia University, will be
the institute's deputy director and will serve as assistant director of research
at SLAC. Blandford and Kahn will have joint faculty appointments at SLAC and in
Stanford's physics department. Their appointments will be effective in the fall
of 2003.
"The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology adds new
scope to SLAC's internationally recognized research programs," said SLAC
Director Jonathan Dorfan. "Roger Blandford and Steve Kahn are the 'dream
team' to launch Stanford's Kavli Institute. Their combination of scientific accomplishment
and demonstrated leadership within academia and within the field of particle astrophysics
and cosmology ensures an exciting and highly productive future for the institute."
Physics at the smallest scales uses particle physics accelerators, and at the
largest scales uses the universe as a laboratory. All seem to coalesce in the
most extreme environments of supernovae and gamma ray bursts. Particle astrophysics
is thus in a pivotal position. Waiting to be explored are questions that could
radically change our understanding of the universe: What powered the Big Bang?
What is the role of dark matter in binding the universe together? What are the
dynamics of black holes? Are there hidden space-time dimensions?
"The investment Stanford University is making in this newly developing
exciting field, and their decision to locate the new institute at SLAC, will benefit
not only the Laboratory, but all of science," said Dr. Raymond Orbach, Director
of the Department of Energy's Office of Science. "This forefront field is
of enormous intellectual and scientific importance, and the Office of Science
is privileged to be associated with this initiative. Our thanks go to the Stanford
University, The Kavli Foundation, and the Chen family, for making all this happen."
Blandford earned his doctorate at Cambridge and for more than 25 years has
been a professor at Caltech, where he specializes in high-energy astrophysics
and cosmology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and
a Fellow of the Royal Society. He received the Helen B. Warner Prize of the American
Astronomical Society in 1982, the Dannie Heineman Prize of the American Astronomical
Society in 1988 and Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1999.
He has been instrumental in designing road maps for the future of national astrophysics
and cosmology programs.
"This is an exciting time in cosmology and particle physics. New observational
discoveries about the universe are challenging our understanding of basic physics,"
Blandford said. "I am very grateful to The Kavli Foundation for its vision
and generosity, and I look forward to working with the Stanford community to create
an intellectually vibrant center that will bring physicists and astronomers together
to address these challenges."
Kahn earned his doctorate at the University of California-Berkeley, and did
postdoctoral work at Harvard. He was on the faculty at Berkeley before going to
Columbia, where he recently served as chair of the Physics Department. He has
a broad range of research experience in observational and in laboratory astrophysics.
"The fields of particle astrophysics and cosmology have yielded remarkable
and surprising discoveries over the last few years. It is a perfect time to inaugurate
a dedicated institute to capitalize on these advances. The environment at SLAC
and Stanford is ideal. The new institute should be well positioned to harness
a diverse array of relevant scientific and technical capabilities that are already
present at these institutions."
The current Stanford Physics Department chairman, Doug Osheroff, and his predecessor,
Steve Chu, both Nobel Laureates, see the institute as a key step in continuing
Stanford's tradition of groundbreaking research.
"This is the most exciting thing that has happened to physics at Stanford
in the past 15 years, and that includes four Nobel Prizes in a row!" said
Osheroff. "This new institute will serve as a catalyst, focusing both new
and existing expertise at SLAC and on campus to work on some of the most challenging
questions of our time. In addition, we could not have attracted two better scientists
to lead in this effort."
"One of the most exciting frontiers of physics lies in the exploration
of the very small and the very large," Chu explained. "The Kavli Institute
for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology will provide a fertile environment for
our researchers to study how physics at the smallest scales affects the largest
scales of the universe. With the generous support of Fred Kavli and The Kavli
Foundation, Pehong and Adele Chen, and the recruitment of two stellar physicists,
Roger Blandford and Steve Kahn, we are off to a fantastic start. I anticipate
this institute will generate extraordinary breakthroughs."
"This gift to Stanford to establish the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics
and Cosmology is precisely aligned with our objectives," said David Auston,
President of The Kavli Foundation. "We intend to have a major presence in
the field of cosmology and this is an important step toward that goal."
Relevant Web URL's:
Photos:
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/slac/media-info/20030109/photos.html
Stanford University Press Release:
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/03/kavlifinal122.html
SLAC:
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/
Stanford University Department of Physics
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/index.html
Stanford University Department of Applied Physics
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/app-physics/
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