Support Our Work
The work that we do at FQxI is only possible because of the generous donations that we have received over the years. The work we support is high-risk, high-reward, and outside of the remit of the short-term thinking of national funding agencies. Support our work to help keep science open-minded, inquisitive, and optimistic.
DECADES of
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How We Make a Difference
FQxI runs grant programs that have awarded over $29 Million to 650 researchers and outreach specialists.
We host conferences bringing together FQxI Members with other top scientists, philanthropists, and thought leaders. These gatherings have sparked discussions that have led to collaborations and even the building of new science institutes.
Through QSpace, we reach millions with our science content featuring grantees, important news, our popular podcast, and more.
FQxI hosts competitions to engage all who are interested in questions at the foundation of science, be they high-profile academics, students, or people outside of academia and science institutes who are interested in these questions.
We encourage high-risk, high-reward work in which scientists dream big and then get to work testing their ideas.
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Testimonials
“FQxI grants have given me the "excuse" I needed to justify working on topics I am passionate about and have given me a valuable lifeline before obtaining a permanent position. I probably would no longer be in academia were it not for FQxI.”
Eric Cavalcanti
“For philosophy, which aims to give the big picture about humans and their place in nature, fundamental science is a gold-mine. FQxI has played a unique, and indispensable role, in breaking down the traditional disciplinary boundaries between science and philosophy. Long may it continue to do so!”
Jeremy Butterfield
QSpace Latest
PressRelease: Shining a light on the roots of plant “intelligence”
All living organisms emit a low level of light radiation, but the origin and function of these ‘biophotons’ are not yet fully understood. An international team of physicists, funded by the Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, has proposed a new approach for investigating this phenomenon based on statistical analyses of this emission. Their aim is to test whether biophotons can play a role in the transport of information within and between living organisms, and whether monitoring biophotons could contribute to the development of medical techniques for the early diagnosis of various diseases. Their analyses of the measurements of the faint glow emitted by lentil seeds support models for the emergence of a kind of plant ‘intelligence,’ in which the biophotonic emission carries information and may thus be used by plants as a means to communicate. The team reported this and reviewed the history of biophotons in an article in the journal Applied Sciences in June 2024.