Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Science Philanthropy in the U.S.
Speaker
Professor Robert W. Conn
Coordinator
Jeff Sakihara
Science philanthropy in the U.S. plays an outsized
and underappreciated role in the country’s research
and discovery ecosystem. Annual and legacy
philanthropy provides more than 40 percent of the
level of federal funding for basic and applied research
to university and non-profit research institutions.
This lecture will discuss how philanthropy has
influenced the development of our innovation
ecosystem and its influence in American leadership,
its role as an element of science policymaking and
in providing the U.S. a distinctive advantage in its
competition with other nations, including China.
and underappreciated role in the country’s research
and discovery ecosystem. Annual and legacy
philanthropy provides more than 40 percent of the
level of federal funding for basic and applied research
to university and non-profit research institutions.
This lecture will discuss how philanthropy has
influenced the development of our innovation
ecosystem and its influence in American leadership,
its role as an element of science policymaking and
in providing the U.S. a distinctive advantage in its
competition with other nations, including China.
Speaker Bio
Presenter: Robert W. Conn is Distinguished
Policy Fellow in the School of Global Policy and
Strategy at UC San Diego, Dean Emeritus of the
UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, and
CEO Emeritus of the Kavli Foundation, a non-
profit with a mission to advance science for the
benefit of humanity. He is a co-founder of the
semiconductor equipment company Plasma and
Venture Technology, and was managing director
at Enterprise Partners Venture Capital. He is a
member of the National Academy of Engineering
and was a leading researcher in fusion energy
physics, engineering and reactor design. He
received his Ph.D. from Cal Tech.
Policy Fellow in the School of Global Policy and
Strategy at UC San Diego, Dean Emeritus of the
UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, and
CEO Emeritus of the Kavli Foundation, a non-
profit with a mission to advance science for the
benefit of humanity. He is a co-founder of the
semiconductor equipment company Plasma and
Venture Technology, and was managing director
at Enterprise Partners Venture Capital. He is a
member of the National Academy of Engineering
and was a leading researcher in fusion energy
physics, engineering and reactor design. He
received his Ph.D. from Cal Tech.
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