The Regents of the University of California is the governing board of the University of California, where the research team working on the following project is based.

This grant funds the grinding and polishing of two long-lead time lenses for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to be used on the Mayall Telescope in Arizona. DESI will collect data about dark energy from over 30 million galaxies and quasars, using baryonic acoustic oscillations (sound waves from the early universe). Understanding dark energy helps explain the early history of the universe and tests cosmological theories and models. Early acoustic oscillations began 13.7 billion years ago. By characterizing these sound waves, scientists can assess the role of early events in the universe, determining key parameters in cosmological models.