Groundbreaking Wednesday for new Caltech environmental research center in Pasadena
A groundbreaking ceremony was set to take place Wednesday for a new Caltech building in Pasadena which officials say will be used to research solar and climate sciences, energy, biofuels and other environmental studies.
The Caltech Resnick Sustainability Center is slated to open in the fall of 2024. It is being funded through a staggering $750 million donation which was made by billionaire philanthropists Stewart and Lynda Resnick to Caltech back in September of 2019.
The exact cost of the center is unclear.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to be on hand for the groundbreaking.
The Caltech Resnick Sustainability Institute was founded back in in 2009. Its goal is to bring together scientists from both Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to "pursue solutions...in a world confronting rapid climate change," Caltech said in a news release.
The new center will "provide equipment, space, and resources divided among several research centers which support the core initiatives of RSI: Sunlight to Everything; Climate Science; Water Resources; and Ecology and Biosphere Engineering," Caltech said.
It will also have a solar roof "where photovoltaic devices can be tested under real-world conditions."
The center will also serve as the home of Caltech's undergraduate chemistry labs.
