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Thursday 28 November 2013

Fred Kavli... The man who is an Inspiration for the youth.

On 21st November 2013, science literally lost one of its close friends with the death of the great innovator and visionary Fred Kavli. Fred Kavli was born in a small farm in Eresfjord, Norway on 20th August 1927. He was a Norwegian and later on immigrated to America as an Engineer, Business leader, Inventor and Philanthropist. As a child living in Norway, he loved the night sky, the mountains and he eventually developed his curiosity for the Universe and the processes that occur in it and thus blossomed his love for science. 
At an early age of 14, he established his first enterprise with his brother to produce wood pellet fuel for cars during the time of the Second World War. Later on, inspired by his father, he decided to move to San Francisco. So, as soon as he completed his engineering degree from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) he moved to America.
In America, he found a job as an Engineer for a Los Angeles business that manufactured feedback flight controls for Atlas missiles. 
After two years, he laid the foundation of the Kavlico Corporation, located in Moorpark, California. Under his leadership, the company rose as one of the world's largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautic, automotive, and industrial applications supplying amongst others General Electric and the Ford Motor Company. 
In the year 2000, Kavli sold the Kavlico Corporation to C-Mac Industries Inc. and subsequently established the Kavli Foundation and began to dedicate much of his wealth to funding research institutions and programs worldwide. The foundation is aimed at developing understanding for science and advancing it to offer benefits to humanity as a whole. It works even today with the aim to support scientist and their work and to promote fundamental scientific research and development. 
On June 19, 2006, he was appointed as the Grand Officer, Commander with Star, of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit by King Harald V of Norway and he was also awarded an honorary doctorate, Doctor Honoris Causa, by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Kavli was a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.He was also a member of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and a former member of the University of California President’s Board on Science and Innovation.
His demise is surely a loss for the entire science fraternity across the world but he will always be remembered for his outstanding contributions towards scientific development and will always be an inspiration for all of us.

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