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Mani L. Bhaumik donates $3M to UCLA
The Bhaumik Fellows will conduct research, foster innovation, and receive training in public engagement, policy, and entrepreneurship.
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Bhavana P - Thu, 17, Jul 2025
- 13:51 EDT
- 18
In 2024, as part of a ceremony at Royce Hall honoring the UCLA College’s first 100 years, dean of physical sciences and senior dean of the UCLA College Miguel García-Garibay (left) recognized Bhaumik for his transformational leadership, advocacy and support. / UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has received a $3 million gift from Indian-American physicist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Mani L. Bhaumik to establish a postdoctoral fellowship program within the university’s Division of Physical Sciences.
The new initiative, named the Bhaumik Prize Postdoctoral Fellows Program, will strengthen research in the departments of Physics and Astronomy and Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Also read: IIT BHU gets $1.6 M gift from Indian-American alumnus Dev Goswami
The Division of Physical Sciences will match Bhaumik’s donation with an additional $1.5 million, creating a $4.5 million fund to recruit and support outstanding early-career researchers. The program will launch as a six-year pilot, appointing four fellows annually for up to three-year terms, ultimately supporting around 16 fellows.
Bhaumik, who began his career as a Sloan Foundation postdoctoral fellow at UCLA, expressed deep pride in giving back to his Alma Mater. “I almost grew up along with UCLA — when I came here at 28, I wasn’t that much younger than the university. It’s really amazing to have seen the growth of UCLA and where it is going. I’d like to be a fly on the wall for the next centennial to see what has happened — the progress so far has been unimaginable,” Bhaumik said.
Dean Miguel García-Garibay praised Bhaumik’s commitment to advancing science and nurturing young talent. “We are tremendously grateful for his gift to establish the Bhaumik Prize Postdoctoral Fellows Program, which not only strengthens UCLA’s standing as a destination for rising scientists, but ultimately will serve to shape a better future through the contributions they will make to our academic community and to the world,” he said.
Born in rural West Bengal, Bhaumik rose to prominence through groundbreaking work at Northrop Grumman, where he contributed to laser technology that led to Lasik eye surgery. A recipient of the UCLA College 100 Visionary Award, he has previously supported the Mani L. Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Mani L. Bhaumik Centennial Collaboratory.
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