No joke: 'Big Bang' backs future Sheldons

Sheldon and Leonard don't just sit around their Pasadena apartment ruminating on Superman and string theory.

The fictional physicists of The Big Bang Theory are putting their money behind the next generation of real scientists – or at least co-creator Chuck Lorre and others behind the hit CBS comedy are.

The TV series and The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, along with nearly 50 Big Bang stars, producers and crew members, have established The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment, which will provide financial aid to undergraduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at UCLA.

The scholarship fund, announced Thursday, has raised $4 million, which will support 20 low-income students who have been accepted on merit at the Los Angeles-based university but need extra financial assistance to cover the costs of college.

The first group of scholarship recipients will be announced in the fall on Big Bang's Burbank set. They will be joined by stars and producers of the comedy, which will be entering its ninth season. An additional five students will receive support in each future academic year – in perpetuity.

It is the first UCLA scholarship fund to be created by and named for a TV series, albeit one that refers to a scientific theory about the creation of the universe. (It's also likely the first UCLA aid program created by fictional scientists affiliated with nearby Caltech.)

Contributors include the actors who play Sheldon and Leonard, Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, along with their co-stars, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch. Executive producers Lorre, Bill Prady and Steven Molaro, along with crew members, CBS, Warner Bros. Television and others in the entertainment industry, also have made donations.

Lorre, the comedic mastermind behind Big Bang, Mike & Molly, Mom and the recently departed Two and a Half Men, got serious for a minute when commenting on the financial aid program: "We have all been given a gift with The Big Bang Theory, a show that's not only based in the scientific community, but also enthusiastically supported by that same community – this is our opportunity to give back. In that spirit, our Big Bang family has made a meaningful contribution, and together, we'll share in the support of these future scholars, scientists and leaders."

Big Bang has scientific connections to UCLA. Bialik, who plays neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the university and the show's science consultant, David Saltzberg, is a professor of physics and astronomy there.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block offered a statement of appreciation. "At UCLA, we pride ourselves on providing opportunities for students from all economic backgrounds. UCLA attracts the very best students from around the world, and admission is very competitive. We are grateful for The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment, whose contributors agree with us that economic standing should not hinder a deserving student's shot at a degree from a university of UCLA's caliber."