The Endowment Fund supports large spatial projects in the field of the physics of the Universe, be it in precise measurement of the fluctuations of the first light emitted, which allows us to have a precise view of the structure of our Universe 380.000 years after the Big Bang, or the search for gravitational waves that allows us to visualize black holes. These international projects have budgets reaching up to 1 billion euros, but the action of the Fund, even limited (a postdoctoral grant, the purchase of equipment) allows, particularly in the initial phases, the Fund’s associated research organizations to develop a special expertise and a main position in these major projects.
These large projects are all characterized by a technology at the forefront of current knowledge. The other action axis of the Fund is to help develop these highly specialized techniques and to open their scope of application.