The purpose of the program is to enhance undergraduate biology and chemistry education through undergraduate research experiences that emphasize the relationship between these scientific fields. It also seeks to encourage students to pursue graduate education in biology and chemistry. Each year, grants of $20,000 per year for up to three years are awarded to primarily undergraduate institutions for joint use by their biology and chemistry departments.
During the course of the award, Merck representatives will plan to visit award recipient institutions to meet with students to learn about their research and related interests, and to become familiar with the departmental facilities and faculty approaches to science education and training. In addition to supporting undergraduates' research efforts, the awards may provide funding for symposia, lecture series and workshops.
This year's winners are Allegheny College in Meadville, PA; Boise State University in Boise, ID; Colby College in Waterville, ME; Knox College in Galesburg, IL; Lawrence University in Appleton, WI; Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT; Millsaps College in Jackson, MS; Pomona College in Claremont, CA; Rhodes College in Memphis, TN; Ripon College in Ripon, WI; Trinity University in San Antonio, TX; University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA; University of San Diego in San Diego, CA; Uion College in Schenectady, NY; and Whittier College in Whittier, CA.
"This is the second year of the program as a national competition, and we've been very gratified to see the level of interest in it from schools around the country. The competition has also become an annual event, which means that it is providing far more opportunities for students to participate in research," said Jeff Charvat, Senior Program Associate in the Education and Human Resources Directorate at AAAS.
The program was launched in 1993 and is open to institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico that meet certain criteria. They must offer an American Chemical Society-approved program in chemistry and confer 10 or fewer graduate degrees annually in biology and chemistry combined. For additional information, send questions to Merck@AAAAS.org.
The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based private, charitable foundation. Established in 1957 by Merck & CO., Inc., the foundation is funded entirely by the company. The mission of the foundations is to advance biomedical science training and education and to improve health care worldwide. Since its inception, more than $254 million have been contributed by the Foundation to support biomedical education and health care, as well as social service, arts and cultural, civic, environmental, and other non-profit organizations.
Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest federation of scientists with more than 138,000 individual members and 273 affiliated societies. The Association publishes the weekly, peer-reviewed journal Science and administers EurekAlert! (www.eurekalert.org), the online news service featuring the latest discoveries in science and technology.