Kavli Foundation (United States) facts for kids

The Kavli Foundation is an organization based in Los Angeles, California. Its main goal is to help science grow and improve. It also works to help people better understand and support scientists and their important work.

The foundation was started in December 2000 by Fred Kavli. He was a business leader and philanthropist from Norway who became an American citizen. Fred Kavli earned his money by creating a company called Kavlico, which made sensors. He also invested in real estate.

Fred Kavli passed away in 2013. He left most of his wealth to the foundation. This allowed the foundation to continue its mission of supporting science.

The first president of The Kavli Foundation was David H. Auston. He led the foundation from 2002 to 2009. After him, Robert W. Conn served as president from 2009 to 2020. As of 2025, Cynthia M. Friend is the current president.

The Kavli Prize: Honoring Science Breakthroughs

The Kavli Prize celebrates scientists who make amazing discoveries. These breakthroughs are recognized in three special areas of research. These fields are astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience.

A prize is given in each of these areas every two years since 2008. Each prize includes a special scroll, a medal, and one million dollars. The Kavli Prize is a team effort. It involves The Kavli Foundation, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.

Expert scientists choose the prize winners. These scientists are part of three independent committees. They are recommended by major science groups around the world. These groups include the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the French Academy of Sciences. Other recommending groups are the Max Planck Society, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and The Royal Society.

After the committees make their choices, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters confirms the selections.

The Kavli Institutes: Centers for Research

The Kavli Foundation supports 20 special research centers called Kavli Institutes. These institutes focus on four key areas of science. They study astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics.

Astrophysics Institutes

• The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford University
• The Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago
• The Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• The Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University
• The Kavli Institute for Cosmology at the University of Cambridge
• The Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe at the University of Tokyo

Nanoscience Institutes

• The Kavli Institute for Nanoscale Science at Cornell University
• The Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands
• The Kavli Nanoscience Institute at the California Institute of Technology
• The Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• The Kavli Institute for NanoScience Discovery at the University of Oxford

Neuroscience Institutes

• The Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia University
• The Kavli Institute for Brain & Mind at the University of California, San Diego
• The Kavli Institute for Neuroscience at Yale University
• The Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• The Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute at Johns Hopkins University
• The Kavli Neural Systems Institute at The Rockefeller University
• The Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco

Theoretical Physics Institutes

• Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara
• The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (KITS) at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences