In honor of the philanthropic leadership of David S. ’70 and Marta T. Hall as one of Pomfret’s fifteen seven-figure donors to the Amplify campaign, Pomfret School has named the physics laboratory in VISTA (Venue for Innovation, Science, Technology, and Academics) the Hall Physics Lab. 

In making their generous donation, David said, “It is an honor to contribute to Pomfret School in support of VISTA and the study of physics, a field that has informed my own work for many decades. My gratitude goes to faculty members Ben Morgan '53 and Gene Roure, whose dedication and passion for teaching and learning inspired countless students, including myself. It was their time outside of the classroom that nurtured my own creativity. This space is a testament to those moments of discovery, small and large, that spark students’ curiosity and imagination.”

A recipient of the Pomfret School Alumni Award in 2019, David Hall is an inventor and entrepreneur. He founded Velodyne Acoustics LLC and started Velodyne Lidar Inc., along with Marta Hall, as president. David received the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation Inventor of the Year Award in 2018, among many national awards. David is currently founding a new technology company, Shoot the Moon Rocket Technologies, Inc. Marta Thoma Hall founded the World Safety Summit for Autonomous Cars in 2017. Together, the two founded The Hall Art and Technology Foundation, a multi-layered project that follows the Halls’ interest in pursuing visionary, futuristic advancements in technology and art. 

VISTA (Venue for Innovation, Science, Technology, and Academics) is a $22 million, three-story, 22,000-square-foot facility that opened in September 2024. It houses classrooms, state-of-the-art labs, and community gathering spaces. It was designed so that every square inch of the building could be used efficiently. On the top floor is a dedicated laboratory prep space with two pass-through chemical fume hoods. In each classroom, suspended electrical outlets are ready to be pulled down and used to power microscopes positioned on the moveable lab benches. In addition to the physics lab, the ground floor also includes indoor and outdoor maker spaces as well as an environmental science lab with a boot washing station ready for students to return from exploring Pomfret’s outdoor class — the Pomfret Woods. 

Amplify: The Campaign for Pomfret School is the most ambitious campaign in the School’s history — with the goal of raising $80 million. Through this campaign, Pomfret will revitalize their science facility, boost faculty compensation and professional development, increase financial aid, invest in new ideas, and support the health and wellness of their students, all while continuing to fortify their annual giving program. Amplify launched in the fall of 2022 and has raised $77 million.

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