UCSB alumnus and Oracle Chairman Jeff Henley and his wife Judy announced a $50 million donation to the Institute for Energy Efficiency and the College of Engineering on Saturday to help fund advancements in energy- saving technologies.

Of the contribution, $30 million will finance the construction of Henley Hall — a new building to house the IEE operational headquarters — while the remaining $20 million will go toward maintaining the College of Engineering. The investment was put forth through the Campaign for UCSB, a campus initiative co-chaired by Henley and dedicated to raising approximately $1 billion in donations.

IEE Director John Bowers, who holds the Fred Kavli Chair in Nanotechnology and teaches electrical and computer engineering at UCSB, said donations like the Henleys’ allow the institute to pursue ambitious but beneficial goals.

“We waste more energy than we consume, but with scientific and technological breakthroughs we can change that — permanently,” Bowers said in a press release. “The Henleys’ gift is key to enabling our existing faculty and new faculty hired in this important area to focus and collaborate on these important global problems.”

The IEE, an interdisciplinary research program established in 2008, consists of 50 faculty members and 120 graduate and post-doctoral students aiming to develop new types of energy- efficient technology, such as longer-lasting LEDs and low-cost solar cells.

Jeff Henley, the namesake of the campus’s iconic east entrance, has also contributed the Henley Endowed Chair in Economics as well as several donations to the College of Engineering and Intercollegiate Athletics. He serves on the Chancellor’s Advisory Council, the College of Engineering’s International Advisory Council and as chair of the IEE’s Directors Council and Global Advisory Board.

—Staff Report

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