Mellon money already has helped to make Carnegie Mellon University a national leader in business and computer science education.

Now a new gift of $25 million -- the largest from a private foundation in CMU history -- is aimed at making the school a bigger player in life sciences.

CMU yesterday announced the gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. which historically has been among the university's most generous givers.

The latest gift will establish a Life Sciences Competitiveness Fund to support faculty, new labs and a Presidential Scholars Fund for graduate students focusing on life science fields, such as computational biology, medical robotics and biomedical engineering.

"The world is seeing phenomenal breakthroughs in biological sciences, and the implications of that for human health and business are tremendous," said CMU President Jared Cohon. "We're seeing that in Pittsburgh as well.

"Part of this gift recognizes Carnegie Mellon's commitment not only to strengthening its research efforts in the life sciences but also turning that into commercial success for Pittsburgh, new companies and new jobs. But it all starts with research strength. That's what the money will go toward."

Carnegie Mellon's largest single donation remains $55 million, given in 2004 by Wall Street investor David A. Tepper and his wife, Marlene, for the business school, now known as the David A. Tepper School of Business.

Carnegie Mellon's name comes from the merger of Carnegie Tech and the Mellon Institute in 1967.

Even before that, William Larimer Mellon, who is from a different family branch than Richard King Mellon, gave $6 million in 1949 to found the business school.

In 1966, Richard King and Constance Mellon personally gave $5 million to set up the computer science department and the Richard King Mellon Professorship of Computer Science.

Other gifts came through the Richard King Mellon Foundation, including $7.8 million to the Mellon Institute shortly before the merger with Carnegie Tech; $12 million from 1973 to 1987 for a President's Discretionary Fund; $6 million in 1989 for a new business school wing called Posner Hall; $6 million in 1994 for the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a project of CMU and the University of Pittsburgh; and $11 million in 1998 for undergraduate science labs in Doherty Hall.

The latest gift, said Dr. Cohon, "represents another big bet by the foundation and a great vote of confidence in Carnegie Mellon to do great things with the money."

He said part of the excitement is the unknown.

"We know what general directions we want to move in, but the discoveries are yet to be made."

In a news release, Richard P. Mellon, chairman of the foundation, said, its trustees are "very proud of the long-standing relationship."

Seward Prosser Mellon, foundation president and CEO, said, "The building of advanced facilities and attracting and supporting the most talented graduate students in life sciences helps position the region to be competitive nationally."