Billionaire Sidney Kimmel to Donate $5.5 to Fund University of Missouri Cold Fusion Research

The Columbia Daily Tribune is reporting that Sidney Kimmel, Chairman of the Board of Directors and founder of Jones Apparel Group, Inc., is donating $5.5 million through his charitable foundation to fund studies in the field of cold fusion at the University of Missouri.

The purpose of the gift is to try to understand the ‘pure science’ behind the excess heat that is generated in many cold fusion/LENR experiments. Kimmel’s gift will establish the Sidney Kimmel Institute for Nuclear Renaissance, or SKINR, at MU.

Rob Duncan, vice chancellor for research at the university, has been a leading proponent for trying to fully understand the phenomenon of cold fusion. He featured in the 2009 60 Minutes TV program in which he expressed surprise at evidence he examined in favor of cold fusion in experimental results he examined. In a 2010 interview with the Columbia Daily Tribune Duncan said, “When we see a phenomenon that surprises us, we should approach it with the scientific method and with curiosity . . . The problem here is the problem you traditionally have with new technology. Everyone wants to jump ahead to try to figure out what it may end up being … but what you really need to do is say, ‘This is something we haven’t seen or understood before; let’s try to understand it.’ ”

Sidney Kimmel’s gift is an important development in the scientific exploration of the cold fusion/LENR phenomenon — one that could lead to a greater understanding of the physics involved, and which may lead to more and better technologies that are based on it. Kimmel’s motivation behind the gift is a traditionally philanthropic one. “Very much like my commitments to cancer research, I believe in investing for America’s future generations. I chose the University of Missouri for this important gift because it is a comprehensive university, experienced in using its deep scientific research capacity across many fields with its firm commitment to serve the public good. This may be futuristic, but when it comes to energy, our future is now.”