$50 million gift from Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa propels school’s aerospace future
Caltech has received a transformative $50 million gift from philanthropist Lynn Booth and aerospace leader Kent Kresa—an investment that endows and names the Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa Department of Aerospace, securing the California Institute of Technology’s continued preeminence in flight and space research for generations to come.
The commitment, made jointly with their family foundations, represents a significant moment in Caltech’s history—strengthening the Institute’s legacy in fields where scientific imagination meets profound human curiosity. It also speaks to the couple’s enduring belief in the power of philanthropy to drive exploration, innovation, and discovery.
“The history of aerospace research and technology development is deeply woven into Caltech’s DNA,” noted Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum. “One could not imagine more fitting philanthropists than Lynn and Kent to name the department, given their long-time dedication to Caltech, their appreciation for what makes the Institute special, and Kent’s own storied career in aerospace.”
For Booth and Kresa, this gift represents a personal and professional convergence years in the making. Both longtime supporters of Caltech, they first met through their mutual service on the Institute’s Board. Those encounters—fueled by a shared passion for science and education—grew into friendship and later, partnership. They married in 2017, the same year they established the Booth–Kresa Leadership Chair for the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST), a signal of their joint commitment to advancing robotics and autonomy.
“Kent and I believe deeply in the power of curiosity,” said Booth, president of the Otis Booth Foundation. “Especially during this time of accelerating discovery on Earth and in space, we are proud to support Caltech’s faculty and students as they survey new frontiers and develop technologies that benefit society.”
As one of the most admired figures in Los Angeles philanthropy, Lynn Booth has long advanced education, culture, and social progress through the Otis Booth Foundation. Kent Kresa, the chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman Corporation and former chair of Caltech’s Board of Trustees, helped lead one of America’s most storied aerospace companies into the modern era before devoting his energy to innovation in education and scientific research. Their partnership—both personal and philanthropic—has become a force for progress that blends visionary leadership with generosity of spirit.
The newly endowed department, home to the famed Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT), will accelerate key initiatives that extend Caltech’s reach far beyond Pasadena. From hypersonic flight to quantum devices, autonomous systems, and bio-inspired engineering, the Booth–Kresa gift provides flexible funding that allows researchers to test bold ideas, bridge academic disciplines, and transition discoveries from the lab into real-world applications.
To that end, the couple’s contribution also creates the Booth–Kresa Bridge Fund and Initiative for Emerging Research—resources designed to give faculty and students room to experiment where traditional funding is scarce. “Lynn and Kent’s philanthropy is particularly important during this time of uncertain research funding,” said Mory Gharib, Caltech’s Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Medical Engineering. “It gives us the freedom to pursue concepts that will define the field.”
The endowment extends beyond laboratories and test stands. The Booth–Kresa Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs will support emerging scholars and early-career researchers at critical stages in their development, allowing them to take intellectual risks and push forward new generations of aerospace advancement. Faculty recruitment and retention funds will help Caltech attract the world’s brightest engineering minds and sustain a culture that blends rigorous inquiry with futuristic vision.
For Caltech—and for the field of aerospace—the impact is both immediate and enduring. From the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s earliest rockets to its current generation of deep space missions, the Institute’s faculty and alumni have embodied a spirit of daring exploration that infuses science with imagination. That same spirit drives the Booth–Kresa Department of Aerospace, where engineers today are designing spacecraft that can survive high-speed entry, developing solar power systems that beam energy from orbit, and teaching robots to navigate other worlds.
“Lynn and I have seen firsthand how the department pushes the boundaries of exploration,” said Kresa. “This gift is a way to help fuel that spirit—accelerating progress in drones and autonomous systems, hypersonic flight, and space technology—while opening doors for a new generation of bright young minds who will imagine and build the future.”
Their gift joins a lineage of historic Caltech benefactors whose support has shaped the trajectory of science and spaceflight itself. Yet few gifts encapsulate the Institute’s past, present, and future as elegantly as this one. It honors legacy, celebrates partnership, fuels discovery, and ensures that Caltech’s people—the dreamers and doers—have the tools they need to envision what’s next.
“This is more than a gift,” said Caltech Provost David Tirrell. “It’s an investment in tomorrow—one that equips Caltech to explore the unknown, educate leaders, and develop technologies that benefit humanity. The Institute is profoundly grateful for Lynn and Kent’s friendship and their enduring commitment to the pursuit of knowledge.”
With their $50 million commitment, Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa have effectively placed their names alongside those of Caltech’s legendary innovators—von Kármán, Malina, Parsons, and Thompson—in shaping how humanity ascends, both literally and metaphorically, toward the stars.