The Scripps Research Institute announced Wednesday a $12.8 million gift from a Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist that will go toward the cost of construction of new buildings at its La Jolla campus.
The donation was provided by Samuel Yin, chairman of the Ruentex Group and chief development officer, chief technology officer and chief engineer of Ruentex Construction & Development.
Yin is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at National Taiwan University and a professor at Peking University, where he advises doctoral students.
Paired with a previous challenge gift, TSRI will have $25 million for the construction project.
“I would like to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Yin for this transformative gift,” said TSRI CEO Peter Schultz. “Together with a generous matching grant from an anonymous donor, the support provides critical anchor funding for the construction of cutting-edge new laboratories.”
TSRI President Steve Kay said that, at Yin’s direction, one of the new buildings will be named the Chi-Huey Wong Chemical Biology Laboratory, in honor of a professor of chemistry at TSRI and president of Academia Sinica, the highest academic institution in Taiwan.
“I am most grateful for this unexpected honor,” said Wong, who researches cancer and infectious diseases. “Dr. Yin is a visionary committed to making a better world, and I am doubly appreciative of the recognition because it is at the behest of this great man.”
TSRI said the money will help build a state-of-the-art complex that will consolidate research labs, encourage collaboration among the institute’s scientists and strengthen ongoing programs in biology and chemistry.
—City News Service
