November 15, 2001 | Read Time: 1 minute
Gordon E. Moore, chairman emeritus of the Intel Corporation, and his wife, Betty, have pledged $600-million to the California Institute of Technology through a personal gift and through grants from their family foundation, the institute announced.
The couple’s contribution is the largest ever to a higher-education institution.
Mr. and Mrs. Moore pledged $300-million to the institute over five years. An equal amount will come in grants from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, in San Francisco, over 10 years.
The donations will support education and science programs at the institute, located in Pasadena.
Mr. Moore, 72, received his doctorate in chemistry from the institute in 1954. In addition to his role at Intel, he is well-known for formulating “Moore’s Law,” which accurately predicted that the power of computer chips would approximately double every year.
The Moores have made a number of other large gifts in the last four years, including $35-million to Conservation International, an environmental charity in Washington; $12.5-million to the University of Cambridge, in England; and $1-million to the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, in San Jose, Calif.
