Searching for Earth-like Exoplanets in the Northern Skies Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 7/3/2019 on 7/3/2019 Artemis, the first ground-based telescope of the SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) Northern Observatory, has completed installation and is officially hunting for Earth-like exoplanets in the Northern Hemisphere.
Our Ignorance About Gravity Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 6/20/2019 on 6/20/2019 How universal is Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation? We already know that this law does not apply when the gravitational force is very strong (like near a black hole). And when the gravitational force is very weak (like between two billiard balls) we don’t really know if Newton’s Law applies or not, because such a tiny force is very difficult to measure.
Letter from the President: June 2019 Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 6/6/2019 on 6/6/2019 In 2018, the Foundation, for the first time in its history, awarded $100 million in grants in a single year. That we were able to do this is due to a generous Board, a dedicated staff, and, above all, an overwhelmingly thoughtful, creative, and committed set of grantees. We are immensely grateful to you, our …
Announcing The Early Educator Investment Collaborative Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/30/2019 on 5/30/2019 The Heising-Simons Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of the Early Educator Investment Collaborative (EEIC), a group of early childhood funders working to advance the highest standards of educator quality, support educators’ preparation and professional learning, and achieve professional compensation that reflects the transformational value of early childhood educators. Helping all early educators achieve their full potential …
Introducing A New Member Of The Heising-Simons Foundation Climate And Clean Energy Team Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/29/2019 on 5/29/2019 The Heising-Simons Foundation is delighted to welcome Laura Wisland as a program officer for the Climate and Clean Energy program. Laura led the Union of Concerned Scientists’ work on Western power sector issues for the last decade. Prior to that, she was the director of the California Hydropower Reform Coalition. Laura has a master’s degree from …
Increasing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Physics and Astronomy Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/16/2019 on 5/16/2019 The Foundation supports innovative and scalable initiatives to promote a more inclusive and diverse physics and astronomy braintrust. We hope to inspire more such efforts from the funders’ community, and within academic institutions.
Making Headlines: Grantees in the News, April 2019 Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/13/2019 on 5/13/2019 The Heising-Simons Foundation is proud to regularly see its grantee partners featured in media outlets across the country, providing an expert voice on a timely issue or being highlighted for their accomplishments and hard work. Here are some news items that have featured our grantees in April 2019.
Strengthening Legal Support for Local News Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/9/2019 on 5/9/2019 Today, a group of foundations announced a new pooled fund designed to support university legal clinics that are strengthening and defending the First Amendment, media access, and transparency. Supported by the Democracy Fund, the Klarman Family Foundation, and the Heising-Simons Foundation, and hosted by the Miami Foundation, the Legal Clinics Fund was created with the …
Introducing the Margaret Burbidge Visiting Professorship at UC San Diego Share By Heising-Simons Foundation on 5/3/2019 on 5/3/2019 With support from the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Division of Physical Sciences at UC San Diego has established the Margaret Burbidge Visiting Professorship, part of an effort to bring eminent female physicists to the university for collaborative research within its Department of Physics. Three visiting professors from Columbia University, ESPCI Paris, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will fill the inaugural role beginning in the fall.