OMNIA
A New Home for Energy Research P
enn Arts & Sciences received the largest gift in the School’s history: $50 million from P. Roy Vagelos, C’50, PAR’90, HON’99, and Diana T. Vagelos, PAR’90, for a new energy science and technology center. In support of the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences Campaign, the gift benefits faculty, students, and research in pursuit of sustainability.
The new building, a facility of Penn Arts & Sciences and Penn Engineering, will be named in honor of Roy and Diana Vagelos and located at 32nd and Walnut Streets. It will provide state-of-the-art research space and homes for the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, a collaborative research institute, and the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER), an undergraduate dual degree program run jointly by Arts & Sciences and Engineering. Creating a sustainable planet is a key priority of the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences Campaign. Across the School and the University, researchers have sprung
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A RECORD GIFT FROM ROY AND DIANA VAGELOS WILL CREATE AN ENERGY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BUILDING. BY LAUREN REBECCA THACKER
into action, working collaboratively and thinking about creative solutions. The creation of a new building seizes this growing momentum and will act as an incubator for scientists and engineers to engage in cross-disciplinary work and train postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates as future leaders in the field.
This facility will truly foster collaboration and ensure that Penn is positioned to make the impacts in energy research that Roy and Diana envision. “At this critical moment for energy research, I am delighted by the generous gift from Roy and Diana,” says Steven J. Fluharty, Dean and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience. “The new building is a vital part of efforts to create a sustainable