Keck Gives Caltech $24 Million for Space Institute

http://mr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR13096.html

Keck Gives Caltech $24 Million for Space Institute
Caltech News Release
January 23, 2008

PASADENA, Calif.- The California Institute of Technology has received
an
eight-year $24 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to
establish
the W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies, which will bring together
scientists and engineers to develop new space-mission concepts and
technology.

Caltech and Jet Propulsion Laboratory researchers as well as visitors,
students, and postdoctoral researchers from many institutions will
address enduring questions that have fascinated humanity for
centuries,
such as how did the universe begin? what is it made of? what is its
ultimate fate? and has life evolved elsewhere? Each year, the
institute
will adopt one or more new themes and explore those topics through
symposia, in-depth studies, and development of emerging-technology
prototypes for future space missions.

Currently such brainstorming efforts occur in this field, but they are
temporary and sporadic. The Keck Institute will provide an ongoing
framework for this kind of dialog as a sort of think tank, with design
and prototype development as part of its mission.

"Over the last 50 years, the Caltech campus and JPL have been working
together in ways that have helped shape the course of space
exploration,
with major accomplishments in the areas of planetary exploration,
space
astronomy, Earth remote sensing, and aerospace engineering," said Tom
Prince, who will serve as the director of the new Keck Institute for
Space Studies. "This groundbreaking new grant from the Keck Foundation
will help open a new chapter in this relationship by establishing an
institute devoted to revolutionary advances in space science and
engineering. The institute will bring together the best talent from
JPL,
the campus, and the wider community to create the innovative new
approaches and techniques that will influence the course of space
exploration for decades to come."

"We are extremely grateful to the Keck Foundation for this generous
gift," said Caltech president Jean-Lou Chameau. "Keck's mission of
encouraging pioneering research aligns perfectly with Caltech's
mission
to investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science
and
technology. The Keck Foundation's board and staff are to be applauded
for recognizing the Institute's promise and then providing the
resources
to unleash its potential. We expect the Keck Institute for Space
Studies
to be at the center of the country's space-science and engineering
efforts for generations to come. My colleagues at both campuses, JPL
and
Caltech, are deeply grateful to Robert Day and the Keck Foundation for
this bold and generous gift." "Discoveries over the past decade have
created a wealth of new potential for technological breakthrough in
the
fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and aeronautics," said Robert Day,
Keck Foundation chairman, president, and chief executive officer. "The
W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies will enable the best and
brightest in the field to mine this potential and lay the groundwork
for
the next generation of space missions. We are proud to support Caltech
in this cutting-edge project."

"It is so heartening to see a forward-looking and leading private
foundation invest in keeping our country at the forefront of
exploration
and discovery through the support of space, science, and engineering
research," said JPL director Charles Elachi. "I applaud the Keck
Foundation for this visionary action."

Logistically the program will consist of two major phases, a one-year
study phase and a one- to two-year technical follow-up phase. The
study
phase will include an initiation workshop, a few-day course, a few-
week
to several-month working period of informal daily discussion sessions
and seminars, and a closing workshop to present results and offer
recommendations on next steps.

During the technical follow-up phase the Keck Institute will fund
laboratory investigations and technology developments that were
identified as high priorities during the earlier study phase.

Because of Caltech's proximity to JPL, participants can draw on the
relevant expertise there to evaluate and validate new concepts,
including development of feasibility studies of new mission and
instrument concepts.

The selection of topics for study will be an annual process. The
institute's administration will solicit ideas from Caltech and JPL
scientists and engineers who will consult with external colleagues.
Proposals for specific study programs will be submitted, and the
institute's steering committee will make the final selection of
programs
in consultation with an external advisory committee.

The first year of Keck Institute activities includes plans for three
study programs: New Directions in Robotic Exploration of Mars, Large
Space Apertures, and Instrumentation for Cosmic Microwave Background
Observations.

Possible future topics include the search for extra-solar planets, new
approaches to probing dark energy, and next-generation launch and
propulsion systems.

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Contact: Jill Perry (626) 395-3226 jperry@xxxxxxxxxxx

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