For more information contact:

Gary H. Sanders
TMT Project Manager
626 395-2997
sanders@tmt.org

David Silva
TMT Observatory Scientist
626 395-1641
dsilva@tmt.org

Jerry Nelson
Project Scientist
(626) 395-1650
jnelson@ucolick.org

Sandra Dawson
TMT Communications
626 395-1619
sdawson@tmt.org

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Commits $200 Million Support for Thirty-Meter Telescope

December 5, 2007

PASADENA, Calif — The California Institute of Technology and the University of California have received a $200 million commitment over nine years from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation toward the further development and construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT). Funding under this commitment will be shared equally between the two universities, with matching gifts from the two institutions expected to bring the total to $300 million. When built, TMT will be the largest telescope in the world.

The telescope design is being developed by a U.S.-Canadian team that includes the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA), with completion of the design development expected by March 2009.

"The impressive scope of this project has now been matched by the extraordinary generosity from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Caltech and the UC System are thrilled with the foundation's confidence in the project, and we and our partners are eager to create a history-making tool that will allow us to see farther into the universe than ever before," said Caltech President Jean-Lou Chameau. Continue...