The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena has received a $50 million commitment from Caltech trustees Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa for its aerospace department, it was announced Thursday.
The gift will be used to endow the nearly-100-year-old department, which will be renamed the Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa Department of Aerospace.
“The history of aerospace research and technology development is deeply woven into Caltech’s DNA,” Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum said in a statement. “One could not imagine more fitting philanthropists than Lynn and Kent to name the department given their long-time dedication to Caltech, their appreciation for what makes the Institute special and Kent’s own storied career in aerospace.”
Since its founding in 1928, the department — home to the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories — has aimed to advance aerospace science and engineering with applications that have societal impacts. The department played a role in the growth of Southern California’s aircraft industry with its focus on aerodynamics and fluid mechanics.
The department’s faculty and students established the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1936, which Caltech now manages for NASA. More recently, it became the home of the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies, which advances fields such as drone research, robotics and bio-inspired systems, according to Caltech.
“Kent and I believe in the power of curiosity and the importance of giving researchers the freedom to pursue bold ideas,” Booth, president of the Otis Booth Foundation, said. “Especially during this time of accelerating discovery on Earth and in space, we are proud to support the Institute’s faculty and students as they survey new frontiers and develop technologies that will benefit society.”
Kresa, chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman Corporation, was variously Northrop’s president, chief executive officer and board chairman. In 2009, he was chosen by the Obama administration to become chairman of the board of General Motors and led the company through bankruptcy.