Research Innovation

Carbon-Neutral La Jolla Facility

In 2006 the J. Craig Venter Institute established a presence on the west coast in La Jolla, California. The reason for La Jolla is simple: access to and collaboration with exceptional academic institutions like the University of California, San Diego, the Salk Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography to name just a few. Now, the Venter Institute would like to expand our facilities in the La Jolla community while lessening our carbon footprint on the world through a new carbon-neutral, green laboratory facility. A world-class architectural and engineering team has been designing the structure and continues to incorporate innovative energy and water system ideas such that this will be one of the most environmentally sustainable laboratory facilities when it is completed. In addition to meeting the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard for Platinum Certification (the highest rating), the Venter Institute La Jolla research facility is designed to operate on a carbon-neutral basis by generating on site the power needed to run an energy-intensive scientific research laboratory. This is achievable in residential construction, but this project will be the first lab to demonstrate the ability to operate on a carbon-neutral basis.

The Fund for Pioneering Research

The J. Craig Venter Institute has a long history of pioneering genomic research.  Private funds are crucial to advancing our science, since these funds are particularly well-suited to supporting breakthrough results that arise when Venter Institute scientists test bold ideas and unproven techniques.  Science that is truly at the cutting edge is catalyzed by individuals with the foresight to invest their own charitable resources, or those of the foundations and corporations that they lead, in ways that will produce returns of greater scope and magnitude than otherwise possible.  Unleashing the exceptional scientific and technological expertise of those at the Venter Institute to develop new forms of energy, treatments to effectively combat cancer and infectious diseases, mechanisms for converting waste water to clean water, or methods of pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow the greenhouse effect will only be realized if those with hope for a better future make transformational gifts today.