The Frontiers of Science Funding Initiative is hosted by Philantrust, a non-profit organization specialized in the setting up, funding and management of academic research projects. The project will be implemented by an interdisciplinary team including distinguished scholars and experienced program managers.

Stephen M. Kosslyn, Principal Investigator

Stephen M. Kosslyn is Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Associate Psychologist in the Department of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received a B.A. from UCLA and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, both in psychology. His original graduate training was in Cognitive Science, which focused on the intersection of cognitive psychology and Artificial Intelligence. Faced with limitations in those approaches, he eventually turned to study the brain, and is one of the founders of the field of Cognitive Neuroscience. His research has focused primarily on the nature of visual mental imagery, visual perception, and visual communication, and he has authored or coauthored 11 books and over 300 papers on these topics. Kosslyn has received the American Psychological Association’s Boyd R. McCandless Young Scientist Award, the National Academy of Sciences Initiatives in Research Award, the Cattell Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the J-L. Signoret Prize (France), an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Caen (France), and election to Academia Rodinensis pro Remediatione (Switzerland), the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Philip Clayton, Co-Principal Investigator

Philip Clayton holds PhDs in philosophy and theology from Yale University. He has taught at Haverford College, Williams College, California State University and Harvard University. In the 1990s he was Humboldt Professor then Senior Fulbright Professor at the University of Munich.

Philip Clayton was the Principal Investigator of the “Science and the Spiritual Quest” project (SSQ) at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, California. The SSQ brought together over 100 top scientists from around the world to explore the connections between science, ethics, philosophy and theology.

Tom Mackenzie, Program Manager

Tom Mackenzie is a venture philanthropy consultant. From 2001 to 2007 he worked at the Interdisciplinary University of Paris where he took part in the setting up and running of numerous research initiatives, the organization of several academic conferences and the running of two international grants initiatives.

After his postgraduate studies in Economic Development and Environmental Issues (MSc., University of London), he spent a year working at UNESCO in Paris. He maintains close contacts with the organization, notably regarding the preparation of partnerships.