Intel Co-Founder Donates $90-Million for Physics Research

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will spend $90-million over five years to support research in the field of condensed-matter physics, Forbes reports.

The foundation was launched in 2001 by Gordon Moore, co-founder and former chairman of computer-chip giant Intel. Science is one of the foundation’s three primary areas of focus, along with the environment and patient care, and in 2007 it made a nine-year, $200-million pledge toward construction of the world’s largest telescope in Hawaii.

The physics grant aims to improve understanding of a class of systems called quantum materials and phenomena such as high-temperature superconductivity that occur within them. “Quantum materials present largely uncharted ground for study and immense opportunity for discovery,” said Cyndi Atherton, program director for the Moore Foundation.