Dr. Mark G. Jackson spent his undergraduate years earning his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Duke University then carried on to studying theoretical physics and cosmology at Columbia University for his Ph.D. After spending 10 years studying theoretical physics, such as the background cosmic microwave, Dr. Jackson wanted to explore other avenues in physics and recognized the problem in physics was obtaining funding.

Dr.Jackson recognized that funding in physics research has decreased and understood that simple physics projects needed a new way to raise small amounts of money (50k-200k) to get private physics projects launched . The decrease in available funding for physics based projects motivated Mark to leave academia to focus his efforts into Fiat Physica.

Fiat Physica provides a platform which enables physicists to find funding opportunities for physics projects through crowdfunding. Fiat Physica is a startup only 5 months young, founded in 2014, which is based in NYC.

Their mission is to attract contributions to “make physics happen by connecting individuals or business[es] interested in supporting fundamental physics projects” by opening up funding opportunities through crowdfunding. With this platform, the problem in funding for physics projects could get the support needed from contributions to make physics “accessible, enjoyable and relevant.”

Dr. Jackson indicates that one of the current projects featured on Fiat Physica is the “One Earth Message Campaign,” a worldwide project seeking $500,000 for the public to submit images which will be uploaded to NASA New Horizons Spacecraft. Their website also features blog posts, videos and updates from the research projects of their clients.