Investment-Company Head Commits $30-Million to Expand Science Prizes

How much: $30-million pledge

Who got it: New York Academy of Sciences

Who gave it: Leonard Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries, an investment company in New York

Where the money will go: To expand the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, prizes of $250,000 each given to faculty members ages 42 and younger

Donor’s connection to beneficiary: Mr. Blavatnik is a member of the academy’s Board of Governors.

How the gift came about: Mr. Blavatnik and Ellis Rubinstein, the academy’s chief executive, attended the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Stockholm and came up with the idea for a new awards program. Mr. Blavatnik provided more than $300,000 to get the idea started in 2007.

Why he gave: “Our society is more and more driven by science and technology,” says Mr. Blavatnik, who has a master’s degree in computer science from Columbia University. “I like to participate in developing the future.”

What’s next: Mr. Blavatnik is considering expanding to a national or global scale a program he financed at Harvard with a $50-million gift in April, which will enable graduate business students to pursue entrepreneurial projects in the life sciences. “I look for institutions which have track records of excellence with distinguished young minds,” he says. “I focus a bit more on the young ones because I think they get less support than more established ones.”