Campaign Press Release
Oracle Chairman’s $50 Million Gift to UC Santa Barbara Supports Technology Innovation and Advances the Frontiers of Energy Efficiency
Alumni Jeff Henley’s and Judy Henley’s Donation to Fund Collaboration and Scientific Research at UC Santa Barbara’s Institute for Energy Efficiency and College of Engineering
(Santa Barbara, California – May 12, 2012) — Imagine an LED light with 20 times the efficiency of an incandescent bulb. Or a computer that can generate, transmit, and store data 100 times faster than those we use today. How much healthier would our planet be if we could turn waste heat into electricity, or improve the performance of low-cost solar cells, making them more efficient, and more accessible?
The Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) at the University of California, Santa Barbara — a world-ranked collaborative research campus that boasts five Nobel laureates among its faculty — is developing those solutions, and many more. Institute researchers are harnessing nanomaterials to create high-capacity storage batteries and high-efficiency fuel cells, and constructing “energy harvesters” that will see waste heat repurposed as electricity. They are designing hybrid silicon and optical technologies for use in communications devices that will work faster and run cooler.
A new philanthropic gift from Jeff Henley, chairman of the board of Oracle and a UC Santa Barbara alumnus, and his wife, Judy, an honorary alum since 2009, will advance these and other innovations immeasurably. The Henleys have committed $50 million to UCSB for the IEE and its highly regarded College of Engineering. Their investment helps propel the campus toward the $1-billion goal of its Campaign for UC Santa Barbara, a multiyear fund-raising effort. Jeff Henley, a 1966 UCSB grad with distinction, is the campaign’s co-chair.
“The philanthropic leadership of Jeff and Judy Henley is deeply inspiring; we are thrilled by their vision and generosity, and excited about the momentum their gift provides as we launch the next phase of our billion-dollar Campaign for UC Santa Barbara,” said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. “Jeff and Judy have contributed to our university in countless ways over the years, including the Henley Chair in Economics and the beautiful Henley Gate that stands as the iconic entrance to our campus. We are tremendously honored that this transformative $50 million gift for our Institute for Energy Efficiency and our College of Engineering — the largest gift in the history of our campus — will become part of the Henleys’ living legacy at UC Santa Barbara.”
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Note to Editors:
Contact Deborah Hellinger of Oracle, at (212) 508-7935
John Bowers of the Institute for Energy Efficiency, at (805) 893-8447
Rod Alferness of the UCSB College of Engineering, at (805) 893-3141
UCSB Public Affairs:
Shelly Leachman, shelly [dot] leachman [at] ia [dot] ucsb [dot] edu, at (805) 893-8726
George Foulsham, george [dot] foulsham [at] ia [dot] ucsb [dot] edu, at (805) 893-3071
