Furman University Receives $60,000 Grant for Undergraduate Research in Sciences
February 14, 2009
GREENVILLE, SC – February 13, 2009 – Furman University has received a $60,000 award from the Merck Company Foundation for undergraduate research to be conducted jointly by the biology and chemistry departments.
It’s the second consecutive award for Furman in the highly competitive national program, and submitted through Furman’s Office of Integrative Research in the Sciences.
The award, $20,000 a year over the next three years, is one of only 14 to be given to predominantly undergraduate institutions in 2009 based on a rigorous selection process conducted in association with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Other institutions among this year’s awardees include Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, and Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif.
Furman will use the grant to fund twelve summer undergraduate research stipends for students conducting interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and chemistry.
Merck funds will also support an annual summer symposium series including a research colloquium conducted in coordination with other regional universities, biweekly meetings focusing on scientific ethics and the dissemination of student research, and a plenary lecture delivered by visiting scientist of national distinction.
Schools receiving the 2009 awards were recognized in the Feb. 6, 2009 issue of Science.
By the end of 2011 when the current three-year cycle expires, Merck will have given more than $11.5 million to more than 200 colleges and universities since 1994, including $120,000 to Furman University since 2005.
