The Ethereum Foundation has partnered with Columbia Engineering to establish a new research hub aimed at enhancing blockchain infrastructure and protocols.
Summary
- The Ethereum Foundation and Columbia University are collaborating to open a blockchain research center.
- The foundation will contribute up to $6 million in funding for the center.
- Columbia Engineering intends to allocate the funds for operations, research, and additional initiatives.
Columbia Engineering announced that its partnership with the Ethereum Foundation will result in the creation of the Columbia-Ethereum Research Center for Blockchain Protocol Design.
The Ethereum Foundation is set to provide $6 million, with an annual contribution of $500,000 over the first three years to support the Center’s activities.
Tim Roughgarden, a computer science professor and blockchain protocol specialist, will oversee the center’s work at Columbia Engineering. According to reports, the center aims to utilize funding initiatives to advance core blockchain technologies while facilitating academic research.
“We are excited to announce this partnership with the Ethereum Foundation to advance the foundational principles of blockchain,” said Shih-Fu Chang, Dean of Columbia Engineering. “By uniting experts from various fields and industries, we aim to pioneer the foundational breakthroughs in this transformative domain.”
Enhancing the Ethereum blockchain ecosystem
In addition to the $6 million from the EF, the Center will also receive $1.5 million in philanthropic donations. These funds will support operations, competitive research initiatives, and postdoctoral fellowships, along with other activities and events.
The focus areas will encompass computer science, engineering, policy, and economics, with summer bootcamps aimed at junior researchers.
Hsiao-Wei Wang, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, commented on the partnership:
“Ethereum has always been about exploring what decentralized systems can enable, and research and education are crucial for reinforcing that foundation. Through this partnership, we aim to ignite new ideas and breakthroughs that bolster Ethereum’s infrastructure and support the broader blockchain ecosystem.”
The Ethereum Foundation has recently undergone restructuring to streamline its leadership and enhance funding support for projects promoting the advancement of Ethereum’s network.
EF temporarily halted ecosystem grant applications in August, rolled out a new roadmap in early September, and established dAI Team, a new initiative focused on fostering artificial intelligence adoption on Ethereum.
