The University of California, Irvine has announced a $30 million gift from the Samueli Foundation for a new science building that will expand its capacity to conduct collaborative, cross-disciplinary research in engineering, computing, and the physical sciences.

The gift will fund construction of a 100,000-square-foot facility that can accommodate more than fifty faculty members and hundreds of students. Areas of cross-disciplinary research to be catalyzed by the facility include the development of chemical and material sensors to better diagnose and treat cancers; the use of big data, environmental engineering, and organic chemistry to protect and improve water supplies; driverless vehicles; and cybersecurity.

The Samuelis' gift  enables UCI to obtain $50 million in state funds allocated by the UC Office of the President, while an additional $40 million in UCI funds will bring the total budget for the project to $120 million. The couple's previous gifts to UCI include $20 million for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering in 1999 and $5.7 million to establish the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine in 2001.

"Addressing today's grand challenges in society requires collaborative research across a multitude of disciplines, aligning with our STEM ecosystem concept," said Henry Samueli, co-founder of semiconductor giant Broadcom Corp., a distinguished adjunct professor in UCI's electrical engineering & computer science department, and, with his wife Susan, a signatory of the Giving Pledge. "We hope this gift to UCI can be a catalyst for accelerating cross-disciplinary research and scientific innovations that benefit society."