2021 Annual Report
New Frontiers
My first full year was all about new frontiers – discovering more about philanthropy, guiding an organization remotely as we navigated the second year of a global pandemic, and shaping future directions for our science funding. It has been a remarkable and memorable year.
As a scientist my goal has always been to explore new frontiers of science. In 2021, my explorations took me in a different and unexpected direction. After more than 40 years as a professor and a researcher, I joined The Kavli Foundation as its third president.
I am pleased to share the foundation’s 2021 annual report, along with our audited financials and highlights from our giving. This is our first public annual report, marking an important step towards providing greater transparency in our activities.
As I reflect on the year, I am proud that we were a steady hand in supporting basic science while also making room to explore new frontiers in our Science and Science and Society programs, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of an organization that is so passionately committed to advancing science for the benefit of humanity.
Cynthia Friend
Introducing the Kavli Centers for Ethics, Science, and the Public
Cutting-edge neuroscience, genetics, and artificial intelligence are a few examples driving the need to discuss impacts born from scientific discovery. Two Kavli Centers for Ethics, Science, and the Public – at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Cambridge – launched to engage the public in identifying and exploring these issues.
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Research Highlights from Kavli Institutes
At the 20 Kavli Institutes, scientists explore the boundaries of our knowledge in astrophysics, theoretical physics, nanoscience, and neuroscience – the big, the small, and the complex. As 2021 draws to a close, we share one highlight from each institute to illustrate the remarkable basic research happening within each of these fields.
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Celebrating Science Journalists Around the World
Thirty-five journalists from around the world were awarded with the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2021. Entries came from 47 countries with first-time winners from India and Spain. Science news topics ranged, with stories and films on the environment, ethics, diversity, and the global pandemic.
Read moreFinancials
Our philanthropy is conducted through a strategic mix of grantmaking and endowment to accelerate discoveries in basic science and to strengthen the relationship between science and society. The Kavli Foundation endowment, when combined with our external partners, is defined as the Kavli Philanthropic Enterprise and is valued at approximately $1 billion.