MIT today announced the creation of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, made possible by a gift from International Data Group (IDG) Founder and Chairman Patrick J. McGovern, Jr., and his wife, entrepreneur Lore Harp McGovern.

The gift is expected to total $350 million over the next 20 years. The February 18 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the previous largest gift to a university was $300 million.

Charles M. Vest, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said at a signing ceremony at MIT, "Creation of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research will launch one of the most profound and important scientific ventures of the next century and what surely will be a cornerstone of MIT's scientific contributions in the decades ahead. We are deeply grateful to Pat and Lore Harp McGovern for their visionary commitment to MIT and for their extraordinary leadership as philanthropists."

The new institute's mission is aggressive exploration of human learning and communication through interdisciplinary research that encompasses neuroscience, molecular neurobiology, bioengineering, cognitive sciences, computation and genetics. Widely seen as the next new frontier of science, these areas of study have profound implications for human health and quality of life. New technology has opened new frontiers. For example, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging allows scientists, for the first time in history, to observe the brain at work from the inside in extraordinary detail.

Mr. McGovern said that he and his wife decided to devote a major portion of their wealth to brain research because they believe that neuroscience is poised to make major advances in understanding the human mind and behavior.

Mr. McGovern has had a lifetime interest in understanding the brain and its impact on human behavior. He received his S.B. degree in 1959 from MIT, where his major was life sciences with a special interest in neurophysiology and the organization and function of the human nervous system. He took computer science courses to contribute to developing computational models for the function of neural networks.

Mr. McGovern founded IDG, the world's leading computer publishing, research and exposition management company, in 1964. He has launched more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers in 80 countries, including Computerworld, The Industry Standard, and PC World.

Looking back to his student days at MIT, Mr. McGovern recalled, "I was thrilled to study the physical basis of consciousness. Now, the development of powerful new tools such as whole brain imaging allows researchers to address the daunting complexity of the mammalian brain and to begin to understand the biological basis for human thought, language and behavior," he said.

"Within the next 20 years as we move into the knowledge economy, we hope that the interdisciplinary research at the McGovern Institute will lead to improvements in receiving, analyzing, associating, storing, retrieving and communicating information. These scientific advances will result in enhancements to the standard of living and quality of life around the world," he said on the occasion of signing the memorandum of understanding Monday at MIT. He has been a member of the MIT Corporation (the university's board of trustees) since 1989 and a life member of the Corporation since 1998.

Lore Harp McGovern commented, "The process of setting up the McGovern Institute for Brain Research has been an incredible journey, one that has not only introduced me to extraordinary scientists, but also aroused an enormous appetite to learn more about every aspect of the brain. I have been Chairman of the Board of Associates at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research for the last three years, and I have seen how much scientific progress can be achieved in an institute dedicated to a specific mission. It is my hope that in our lifetime we will be able to point proudly to the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and its important contributions to enhancing human learning, communications and quality of life."

Mrs. McGovern has been involved in the technology field since the early 1970s. A co-founder in 1976 of Vector Graphics, one of the earliest PC companies, she is currently involved with numerous start-up ventures in Silicon Valley.

Robert Birgeneau, Dean of Science at MIT from 1991 until this year, said, "Expansion of research, teaching and educational opportunities in the neurosciences has been a strategic priority of the School of Science at MIT for several years, and MIT is poised to become a leading player in defining and advancing this critical new field. The McGovern Institute adds momentum to our plans as well as force to our pioneering research in the neurosciences."