Gates Foundation Donates $20 Million To Build MIT Laboratory For Computer Science

Bill and Melinda Gates, through the William H. Gates Foundation, donated $20 million dollars to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge) for construction of a building that will be the new home for the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (LCS). Architect Frank Gehry is designing the building, known as the William H. Gates Building, on the MIT campus. The building should be ready by 2003.

Situated on the site of historic MIT Building 20, where much of the early development of radar was done during World War II, the Gates Building will be part of the Stata Center for Computer, Information and Intelligence Sciences, also designed by Gehry.

The announcement of the donation was made by MIT President Charles M. Vest, as the laboratory for Computer Science marked its 35th anniversary at a two-day conference at MIT entitled "LCS35: Creating the Future World of Information." Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft (Redmond, WA), was on hand to deliver the conference keynote on the future of software.

For more information, call Michael L. Dertouzos, director of the LCS, at 617-253-2145.