Sponsorship and Support

The Center for Photonics and Nanoelectronics is one of the few research centers at Lehigh University significantly funded by external resources. CPN has become a reality as a result of the consolidation of all facilities and operations of Lehigh's Sherman-Fairchild Laboratory for Solid State Studies as well as its Smith Family Laboratory for Optical Technologies.

Sherman Fairchild Foundation

The Sherman Fairchild Foundation was established in honor of the late inventor, investor and pioneer in photography, aviation and sound engineering. The foundation endowed a major grant to establish the Sherman Fairchild Center at Lehigh in the fall of 1976. The purpose of the center was to strengthen and further develop a program of excellence in nanoscience and engineering through the integration of research and education for both undergraduate and graduate students, forging a collaborative program between engineering, physical sciences and life science.

The Smith FAMILY

The Smith family gift has helped advance Lehigh's research enterprise in fundamental ways, which include stimulating and sustaining increased research activity, and positioning faculty within and beyond the Center for Photonics and Nanoelectronics (CPN) as international leaders in their respective fields. The endowment is still fueling innovation at Lehigh, allowing students and faculty to translate ideas into robust and sustainable research, significantly enhancing the university's research productivity, and securing the institution's place among premier residential research universities.

In 2010, Daniel E. Smith '71, Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth Riley, established the Smith Funds for Research and Innovation in Science and Engineering at Lehigh to expand the institutions research capabilities and position the university to compete on a new level. The philosophy behind Smith's gift was to reward innovative thinking and create incentives for collaboration. In addition to supporting students and post-doctoral researchers, the funds serve as catalytic investments that have ignited successful new research programs.

For more about the Smith family's wide-ranging and generous contributions to Lehigh, please see Dan's profile on Lehigh Engineering's listing of distinguished alumni.

THE SMITH FAMILY
The Smith family gift has helped advance Lehigh's research enterprise in fundamental ways. MORE >>