Tony and Jeanna Pritzker are longtime supporters of UCLA, having donated more than $100 million to the campus. Most recently, they pledged $2 million to the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and created the Pritzker Chair in Sustainability. The donation also supports a faculty excellence fund designed to attract and retain outstanding engineering professors. 

Gaurav Sant, Director of Institute for Carbon Management at UCLA and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been appointed the inaugural sustainability chairholder. Sant’s research was previously supported by the Pritzker Foundation in 2017. The donation supported the UCLA CarbonBuilt team, which developed new technology that turned carbon dioxide into concrete. The team then went on to win the $7.5 million grand prize in the COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition, making UCLA the first university to win an XPRIZE. 

“Gaurav Sant has been instrumental in spearheading innovative carbon management research and technology development at UCLA,” said Jayathi Murthy, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of UCLA Engineering. “I’m confident that as the Pritzker Professor of Sustainability, he will continue to lead the Institute for Carbon Management in advancing sustainable and ready-to-market green technology solutions to climate change.” 

Previous donations from the Pritzkers have supported research and programs such as the UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge (SLA GC). Through their support of SLA GC, eight UCLA engineering professors received awards to support research enhancing the ecosystem and human health. 

Learn more at UCLA Newsroom. 

Image Source: the Pritzkers