At the National Meeting in Orlando, Fla., the American Chemical Society Board of Directors approved 144 ACS Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) grants, selected from 407 proposals. In addition, the ACS Board approved 45 supplements to existing grants for summer research fellowships to benefit faculty from undergraduate departments. These grants and supplements commit more than $7.2 million of the $25.0 million authorized for 2002 grants. Eleven (24%) of the Type AC grants and all of the Type B grants awarded were for periods of three years.

The ACS Board also approved two new pilot programs to be run for three years. One is a program of grants to provide matching funds to support sabbaticals for faculty from undergraduate institutions, including two-year institutions. The other program will provide support for two years for recent Ph.D. recipients to perform postdoctoral research focused on fundamental research related to alternative energy. Detailed guidelines and application procedures are under development and will be announced in the next few months. These two pilot programs are in addition to the program of grants to support ACS-PRF Summer Schools on topics at the cutting edge of science, which was approved in December. Materials for the summer schools (Type H) program are available on the ACS-PRF website, http://chemistry.org/prf.

The ACS-PRF was originally established in 1944. ACS is required to “use all funds for advanced scientific education and fundamental research in the ‘petroleum field,’ which may include any field of pure science which may afford a basis for subsequent research directly connected with the petroleum field.” All grant and administrative expenses are paid by the fund. No ACS dues money is used to support PRF.

Information and application materials can be obtained from Petroleum Research Fund, American Chemical Society, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; by phone (202) 872- 4481; or by e-mail: prfinfo@acs.org. Information is also available on the ACS-PRF website.

Top