Vitalik Buterin Donates 15 Million USDC To Universitas California San Diego To Establish Institutes Of Infectious Diseases

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum. (photo: twitter @Crypto_Crib_)

JAKARTA - According to an announcement from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on March 7, this higher education institution received a donation of 15 million USD Coin (USDC) from the Balvi Philanthropic Fund. The foundation is currently led by co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Vitalik Buterin and "is a scientific investment fund and a direct grant for high-value COVID projects whose institutional or commercial sources tend to ignore."

As reported by UCSD, this donation is the largest contribution of its kind given to universities in the United States and will be used to establish the Meta-Institute for Airborne Disease in a Changing Climate, "The Airport Institute."

UCSD states that newly established institutions will focus on studies of diseases that spread through the air such as influenza, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. The goal is to develop new treatments, vaccines, and diagnostics for these diseases and increase understanding of how these diseases spread.

"I am pleased to support the creation of a new institute in UC San Diego, which will work to increase our scientific knowledge of diseases that spread through the air and share them freely, enabling changes in infrastructure and policies that are beneficial to people around the world," Buterin was quoted as saying by Cointelegraph.

"By working with health experts, we will develop the latest measurements and computing tools to study these issues. The main goal is to develop a better understanding of the production and sources of biological particles scattered through the air and how long these particles remain infectious," said atmospheric chemistryist and professor at UCSD.

The institute will be at the UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences. Further research conducted by The Airport Institute will be published in an open access journal, along with other data. Intellectual assets developed by The Airport Institute will also be published in public domains.