Uncategorized – Blavatnik Family Foundation

Behind the scenes as the National Portrait Gallery reopens

Posted on June 7, 2023 (June 7, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

The cost was originally supposed to be £35.5 million. In fact it has come in at just over £41 million. But that overspend, Cullinan says, was deliberate, after the gallery received an “extra” £10 million donation from Leonard Blavatnik, the industrialist who has become Britain’s most generous arts benefactor. “Doing what we wanted to do for £35 million was always going to be tight,” Cullinan says. “The extra money from the Blavatnik Foundation enabled us to concentrate on quality.” […]

2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel Science Symposium

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Christine Ongsueng

The Blavatnik Family Foundation, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the New York Academy of Sciences invite the public to a series of lectures from the forefront of Israeli research at the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel Symposium on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University. The symposium will be in-person and in English. The three recipients of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel will answer questions and more in a morning of free and exciting lectures in Tel Aviv, Israel. […]

THE BLAVATNIK FUND FOR INNOVATION AT YALE AWARDS $2.5 MILLION TO 11 YALE FACULTY-LED PROJECTS DEVELOPING NEW THERAPEUTICS AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES

Posted on May 23, 2023 (May 24, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Yale Ventures is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards: 11 new Yale faculty-led projects will receive $2.5 million in accelerator funding. The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, made possible by a generous grant from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, supports Yale faculty in the commercialization of biomedical and digital health innovations. This year’s recipients will be recognized at a ceremony during the 2023 Yale Innovation Summit on June 1. Since the Fund’s launch in 2017, it has supported 56 projects with a total of $16.3 million in funding. Yale-Blavatnik-funded projects have resulted in 14 spinoff companies that have raised over $250 million in venture funding, and three funded projects have achieved FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) status. […]

Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction announces judges for 2023

Posted on May 23, 2023 (May 25, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Today, 23 May 2023, The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction announces the full judging panel for the 2023 award. Chair of Judges, Frederick Studemann, Literary Editor of Financial Times, will be joined by award-winning author Andrea Wulf; theatre critic for The Guardian, Arifa Akbar; writer and historian, Ruth Scurr; journalist and critic, Tanjil Rashid; and Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts, Andrew Haldane. The submissions for this year’s prize are now open. Publishers have until June 17 to enter up to three non-fiction books per imprint with publication dates between 1 November 2022 and 31 October 2023. The 2023 awards event, which will take place at the Science Museum in London, is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. […]

The Blavatnik Archive’s ‘Idealizing Zion’ Exhibit Featured in The Jewish Chronicle

Posted on May 19, 2023 (May 19, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

The Blavatnik Archive’s exhibition at the Center for Jewish History in New York entitled “Idealizing Zion: Visualizing the Jewish State”, is featured in this week’s Jewish Chronicle. The exhibit showcases early twentieth-century postcards from the Archive’s collection that were produced in Palestine, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, and depicts how early Zionists imagined the nascent Jewish homeland. The images provide rare insight into some of the powerful ideals that drove the Jewish national movement in the early 20th century. […]

Read Smart Podcast: James Shapiro – The Winner of Winners

Posted on May 11, 2023 (May 12, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

The latest episode of The Read Smart Podcast is dedicated to the Winner of Winners, James Shapiro, who won the 25th-anniversary award two weeks ago today with 1599: A Year In the Life of William Shakespeare. Listen to Shapiro and Iqbal discuss the literary canon, the cultural significance of Shakespeare’s plays, and the Bard’s influence on contemporary politics. The podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. […]

Students Gathered in Central Park to Play the Adaptive Sport of Blind Baseball

Posted on May 8, 2023 (May 11, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

On Saturday, May 6, students gathered for a morning of fun and excitement in Central Park, playing the adaptive sport of blind baseball. The participants ranged from ages six to thirteen and are students from Lighthouse Guild’s Youth Skills Program, which provides social and recreational services to legally blind children to help them build self-confidence. Len and Emily Blavatnik, say, “The Blavatnik Family Foundation is honored to support the Lighthouse Guild in its mission to provide high quality care and innovative programs for visually impaired youths, helping to build self-esteem, confidence, and a strong sense of community.” […]

Nominations for the 2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK is Open Until 24th May 2023

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Christine Ongsueng

The nomination period for the 2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK is open until 24th May 2023. Institution nominators should submit their nominations through blavatnikuk.smapply.io/. Please contact the Blavatnik Awards team (blavatnikawardsuk@nyas.org) with any questions about nominations. The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom celebrate the past accomplishments and future potential of the UK’s most innovative young faculty-rank (academic staff) scientists and engineers working in the three disciplinary categories of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. Every year, one nominee in each category will be named a Blavatnik Awards in the UK Laureate and awarded £100,000 in unrestricted funds, with two Blavatnik Awards in the UK Finalists in each category both receiving £30,000. […]

The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction Winner of Winners Is…

Posted on April 27, 2023 (April 28, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Congratulations to James Shapiro, who won the #BGPrize25 #WinnerofWinners with 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare! The book examines the life and times of The Bard, as well as asks the question: how did Shakespeare become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? The winner was announced by Chair of Judges, Jason Cowley, at a ceremony hosted at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 April. In the run-up to the winner announcement, special editions of the Read Smart Podcast were produced through the generous support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The six shortlisted authors answered questions and delved deeper into their books. […]