Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has received a $20 million gift in support of the school's new Center for Computational Molecular Biology, the Providence Business News reports.

The gift, which was made by an anonymous university trustee, includes $16 million to endow five professorships and $4 million for student research and training programs. The new faculty positions will benefit five different departments, encompassing fields from computer science to molecular biology to applied mathematics.

"This generous and visionary gift highlights the university's unique strength in developing multi-disciplinary programs," said university president Ruth J. Simmons. "Computational molecular biology is a young and rapidly developing field in which Brown University will play a significant national role."

Brown established the new center to support research that will take the data-processing tools of mathematics, statistics, and computer science and apply them to key questions about human development, aging, and evolution.