Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego has received a $15 million grant from the Fund for Science and Technology (FFST) to expand observational capabilities into parts of
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego has received a $15 million grant from the Fund for Science and Technology (FFST) to expand observational capabilities into parts of the ocean where data has historically been sparse or non-existent.
FFST, a new private foundation funded by the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, launched in 2025 with a commitment to invest at least $500 million over four years to propel transformative science and technology for people and the planet.
The grant, the largest of its kind since Scripps became part of UC San Diego in 1960, will advance research in three key areas: monitoring of environmental DNA (eDNA) and other biomolecules in marine ecosystems, augmenting the renowned Argo network of ocean observing robots, and enhancing the study of ocean conditions beneath Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the Doomsday Glacier.
A grant supporting the work of Scripps Director Emeritus Margaret Leinen will support analysis of eDNA — free-floating fragments of DNA shed by organisms into the environment — in understudied parts of the ocean to collect crucial baseline data on marine organisms, from tiny bacteria to massive whales.
With help from the grant, researchers will build
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