Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit organization in the United States. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors.

The Foundation's programs and interests fall into the areas of science and technology, standard of living, economic performance, and education and careers in science and technology. The total assets of the Sloan Foundation have a market value of about US$1.8 billion.

In 2000 the Sloan Foundation initiated a national program to prevent bioterrorism that has evolved to address general terrorism preparedness, and has made 40 grants totaling over $17 million. Other projects recently sponsored in whole or in part by the Sloan Foundation are the Encyclopedia of Life, Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Census of Marine Life, which includes the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS).

The Sloan Work and Family Research Network at Boston College supports research and education about work-family issues. The Sloan Fellowships are annual awards given to more than 100 young researchers and university faculty, to further studies in science, economics, neuroscience, computer science, and molecular biology. In March 2008, the foundation announced a $3 million donation to the Wikimedia Foundation, publishers of Wikipedia.^[1]

Beginning in 2003, the Foundation has awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the Sundance Film Festival to reward filmmakers who make films that focus on science or technology as a theme, or depicts a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character. The current monetary value of the award is $20,000.

Current board members include Harold T. Shapiro Professor of Economics and Public Affairs Princeton University and Robert M. Solow, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1987.