The $25 million donation will establish the Schiller Center for Reef Solutions, supporting long-term coral reef research, innovation, and global collaborations to help protect reefs for future generations.
Photo: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US has launched a new coral reef research centre backed by a $25 million donation from Apple Fellow Phil Schiller and Kim Gassett-Schiller.
The five-year commitment will establish the Schiller Center for Reef Solutions, an institution-wide virtual centre focused on coral reefs, bringing together researchers in ecology, chemistry, robotics, acoustics, data science and marine policy.
More than $22 million will be placed in a permanent endowment, while additional funds will support early research programmes, fellowships and international collaborations.
WHOI said the centre will focus on developing scalable approaches to monitoring, protecting and restoring coral reefs, which face growing pressure from ocean warming, acidification, pollution and other human activity.
"This gift recognizes the power of interdisciplinary ocean science to transform how we understand, protect, and restore coral reef ecosystems," said Peter de Menocal, President and Director of WHOI.
"The challenges facing reefs are among the defining environmental issues of our time. Meeting them will require bold thinking, breakthrough technologies, and collaboration across scientific fields. The Schiller Center is designed to bring those strengths together, accelerating discoveries and translating them into solutions that benefit reefs and the millions of people whose lives and livelihoods depend on them."
Kim Gassett-Schiller and Phil Schiller, who made the $25 million gift to WHOI.
The centre will build on WHOI’s existing Reef Solutions programme. Its work will include research into “Super Reefs” that show natural resistance to warming and acidification, as well as Digital Reefs, a four-dimensional digital-twin system using artificial intelligence and real-time data to simulate reef futures.
Other research areas will include reef microbiology, coral health, larval dispersal and the behaviour and diversity of reef fish.
Phil Schiller, a former senior vice-president of worldwide marketing at Apple, said the investment reflected “both urgency and optimism about the role science can play in addressing the global reef crisis”.
“I've admired the Institution's unique ability to bring scientists and engineers together to turn discovery into real-world solutions,” he said.
“The Schiller Center represents exactly the kind of work we believe in, combining world-class science, innovation, and collaboration to address one of the ocean's most urgent challenges and create lasting impact for future generations.”
The new centre will be led by Amy Apprill, an associate scientist in marine chemistry and geochemistry who has headed WHOI’s Reef Solutions Initiative for the past six years, and runs its Microbial Ecology for Ocean Conservation Laboratory.
“Coral reefs are biodiverse and complex ecosystems, and there is no single solution that will help them thrive,” Apprill said.
“I am thrilled that the Center will provide unique opportunities for our interdisciplinary scientists and engineers to pursue solutions-based research and take risks in their approach that are often not possible with government-based research funding,” she added.
The donation will also fund two endowed leadership positions, support higher-risk research ideas and establish fellowships for early-career reef scientists.
WHOI said the centre will begin operating immediately, with new research projects, fellowships and technology deployments planned over the coming year.