SOCIETY NEWS tion plans to expand the contribution to each institute to about $10 million. “Fred’s contribution to the advance- Remembering ment of science is remarkable and far-reaching, and I am certain future the legacy of generations will owe him a great debt of gratitude for the discoveries that he Fred Kavli encouraged and facilitated,” said Joanna Aizenberg, Director of the Kavli Insti- tute for Bionano Science and Technolo- red Kavli, the founder and chair- gy (KIBST). “Through the Foundation’s Fman of The Kavli Foundation, generous support of KIBST at Harvard passed away in his home in Santa Bar- University, we have been able to explore bara, Calif., on November 21, 2013, at problems that we would never have had the age of 86. an opportunity to explore otherwise. A philanthropist, physicist, entre- In particular, we have pursued early- preneur, business leader, and innovator, stage, high-risk, high-reward research Kavli established The Kavli Founda- that addresses fundamental questions tion in 2000 to advance science for the around the behavior of biomaterials at benefi t of humanity. Based in Southern the nanoscale level. The Institute brings California, the Foundation today in- of Technology, whose research helped together theorists and experimentalists, cludes an international community of usher in the age of nanotechnology. as well as clinicians, across a wide range basic research institutes in the fi elds of “His greatest contribution to science of interdisciplinary areas.” astrophysics, nanoscience, neurosci- was setting up a foundation incorpo- “Fred Kavli was a man with great ence, and theoretical physics. Located rating his wisdom and money. He was curiosity, he liked to discover things,” on three continents, the institutes are personally involved with the concept said A. Paul Alivisatos, Director of the home to some of the most renowned and execution, but not in choosing win- Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at researchers in their fi elds, according ners,” said Dresselhaus. “He was very Berkeley. “He was an inventor and an to Jim Cohen, the Kavli Foundation’s interested in the concept of individuals entrepreneur with a deep belief in the Director of Communications. with means giving back to society in power of new ideas to change the world. The Foundation has also established some forms that make a difference to He brought his adventuresome and en- and supported an international program the future of human existence and also trepreneurial spirit to his philanthropic of conferences, symposia, endowed pro- to increase understanding of our uni- venture, where he rapidly established fessorships, and other activities. This verse from the biggest to the smallest.” the Kavli Foundation as a global force includes being a founding partner of the Dresselhaus recalled a time in 2012 in support of fundamental science. His biennial Kavli Prizes, which recognize when she was traveling from Oslo to choice of areas of science to sponsor (the scientists for their seminal advances Bergen by train, and there on the same very large in astrophysics, the very small in three research areas: astrophysics, second-class car was Fred Kavli. “I was in nanoscience, and the very complex in nanoscience, and neuroscience. very surprised to see such a prominent neuroscience, and the foundational area Kavli founded the Kavlico Corpo- businessman on the second-class car and of theoretical physics) was inspired.” ration in 1958, which made millions not on a fi rst-class car, and later asked The Kavli Foundation established by becoming one of the world’s larg- him why he was not on the fi rst-class the Fred Kavli Distinguished Lecture- est suppliers of sensors for appliances, car. His response was immediate. He ship in Nanoscience and chose the MRS automobiles, and aircraft. He remained explained that in life one has to be fru- Fall Meeting in 2007 as the venue for CEO and sole shareholder of the com- gal and spend available money to buy the fi rst lecture. For several years to fol- pany until it was sold in 2000, the same things that make a difference. To him, low, this distinct honor has been pre- year he established the Foundation. contributing to advancing science was sented at MRS Meetings and continues He began donating much of his for- more important than making a marginal to support scientifi c research, honor tune to science, establishing the Kavli improvement in his personal comfort.” scientifi c achievement, and promote Prize, which he intended to rival the The 17 Kavli Institutes—scattered public understanding of scientists and Nobel Prize. from Beijing to Berkeley—have each their work. Among the seven winners of the received at least $7.5 million from the Science will benefit from Fred Kavli Prizes in 2012 was, in nanosci- Foundation. The money serves as an en- Kavli’s enthusiasm, generosity, and zest ence, Mildred S. Dresselhaus, a pro- dowment that returns about $400,000 for discoveries for years to come. fessor at the Massachusetts Institute per year toward research. The Founda- Lori A. Wilson Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.226, on 26 Sep 2021 at 15:24:57, subjectMRS to BULLETINthe Cambridge • VOLUME Core 39terms • MARCH of use, 2014 available • www.mrs.org/bulletin at 285 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2014.45.