Philanthropists and entrepreneurs Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of The Wonderful Company, announced Thursday an unprecedented $750m pledge to California Institute of Technology, Caltech, to support the school’s cutting-edge research into the most pressing challenges in environmental sustainability.
“The commitment is the largest ever for sustainability research, the largest in Caltech’s history, and the second-largest to a U.S. academic institution,” the press release announcing the pledge has stated.
Explaining the reasons for the commitment, Stewart, 82, and Lynda, 77, owners of The Wonderful Company, the $750m pledge was made “In order to comprehensively manage the climate crisis.”
“We need breakthrough innovations, the kind that will only be possible through significant investment in university research,” said Stewart Resnick.
“Science and bold creativity must unite to address the most pressing challenges facing energy, water and sustainability,” he added.
The transformative pledge will support Caltech’s investigators as they pursue research in solar science, climate science, energy, biofuels, decomposable plastics, water and environmental resources, and ecology and biosphere engineering.
Ultimately, the initiative will bring together experts from across the physical, life, and engineering sciences, the release noted
In response, Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum, said, “Sustainability is the challenge of our times. Stewart and Lynda Resnick’s generosity and vision will permit Caltech to tackle issues of water, energy, food, and waste in a world confronting rapid climate change.
“The Resnick Sustainability Institute will now be able to mount efforts at scale, letting researchers across campus follow their imaginations and translate fundamental discovery into technologies that dramatically advance solutions to society’s most pressing problems.”
