Support Astronomy
To make a donation now, click here.
Gifts we receive from alumni and friends allow us to strengthen student support, fund cutting-edge research and build dedicated facilities. You may direct your contribution to any program or priority you choose. Some of our current needs are highlighted below.
New Campbell Hall: Plans are in place to demolish and replace Campbell Hall, the current home to the Astronomy Department. A new building housing astrophysics, cosmology, and related disciplines is in the design stage. Our goal is a state-of-the-art building, equipped with excellent computing and research laboratories and a rooftop teaching observatory. State funds, combined with an $11 M grant the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will fund much of the project. But private donations will be essential for its completion.
Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellowships: Graduate student and postdoctoral fellowships are needed to attract the best scholars in astrophysics, cosmology, and planetary science to Berkeley and to support exceptional research once they are here.
Instrumentation & Computation: Housed at observatories away from Berkeley, the world’s most sensitive telescopes are used by Berkeley’s astronomers to provide exquisite observations of the Universe. Funds are needed to complete the construction of the newest radio arrays and telescopes, to outfit them with the most sophisticated hardware, software and network access, and to provide ongoing operational support.
Education and Outreach: Presentations, materials, and activities need to be developed and made available to the public to bring the excitement of active science to the community beyond the campus. Partnering with schools and colleges can encourage a new generation to pursue successful science and technology careers.
Visitor Program: A vibrant visitor program inspires faculty, researchers, and students and stimulates new research. The collaborative interactions that come out of these programs are essential to the enrichment of the creative environment, often leading to new projects and insights.
Chair's Discretionary Fund: This unrestricted fund was established to provide flexibility in the general operation of the department.
To make a donation online go to:
http://givetocal.berkeley.edu
If you want your donation to be directed to a specific program, please indicate it in the "instructions" field.
To make a donation by mail:
Send a check, made out to UC Berkeley Foundation, to 601 Campbell Hall MS 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411. Attention: Barbara Hoversten
For more information about ways to support astrophysics and cosmology at Berkeley, please contact Deborah Miller, College of Letters and Science, or Barbara Hoversten , Astronomy Department.