Posted on January 29, 2011

University of California, Riverside to Receive $10 Million for Clean Energy Research

The University of California, Riverside has announced a $10 million pledge from Winston Chung, a battery technology scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur, to support clean battery power, solar energy, and sustainable transportation research at the Bourns College of Engineering.

The grant will be used to establish named professorships in energy innovation and sustainability as well as the Winston Chung Global Energy Center within the Bourns College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT). In recognition of the gift, the university will rename an engineering building Winston Chung Hall.

The Chinese-born Chung is the founder of Winston Global Energy Limited and inventor of the rare earth lithium yttrium battery. The new Chung center initially will focus on uses of his rare earth battery, bio-inspired technology, and the development of clean energy and energy storage.

"[Chung's] investment in this university will result in generations of students and faculty sharing their knowledge with local and global communities, and in new materials and new energy sources for an energy-hungry world," said UC Riverside chancellor Timothy P. White. "This gift is a wonderful testimony to the current strengths and aspirational future of the UCR Bourns College of Engineering."