This unparalleled gift is a fitting tribute to Ray Dolby’s legacy, who changed the way the world listened - his research paved the way for an entire industry.
-Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope
The Dolby family gift is the largest philanthropic donation ever made to UK science, and will support the Cavendish Laboratory, the world-leading centre for physics research where Ray Dolby received his PhD in 1961. Thanks to this exceptional gift, the University has now surpassed the £1 billion milestone in its current £2 billion fundraising campaign. This is the second generous gift to Cambridge from the Dolby family, who donated £35 million to Pembroke College, Cambridge in 2015. The Dolby family is now the largest donor to the fundraising campaign, and the second-largest donor to the University in its 808-year history.
In recognition of this gift, the flagship building of the Cavendish Laboratory redevelopment will be named the Ray Dolby Centre, and is expected to open in 2022. In addition, a new Ray Dolby Research Group will be established at the Cavendish, which will significantly expand research capability and expertise within the new building. The group, which will be led by a new endowed Ray Dolby Professorship, will build on and further strengthen the Cavendish Laboratory’s status and impact as one of the greatest centres of physics research in the world.
“This unparalleled gift is a fitting tribute to Ray Dolby’s legacy, who changed the way the world listened - his research paved the way for an entire industry,” said Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope. “A century from now, we can only speculate on which discoveries will alter the way we live our lives, and which new industries will have been born in the Cavendish Laboratory, in large part thanks to this extraordinarily generous gift.”
Image: Entrance to Ray Dolby Centre at the Cavendish Laboratory
Credit: Jestico + Whiles
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge