Gustavus Receives Research Grant

Gustavus Adolphus College has recently been notified that it is one of 14 colleges and universities to be selected for a grant from the Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program. Sponsored by the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the program awards provide up to $60,000, paid over three years, for use by the biology and chemistry departments at the recipient institution.

The Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program is a competitive program available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Up to 15 awards are made annually. Launched in 2000 as a national competition, the 10-year, $9 million initiative is funded by MISE and administered by AAAS. The program is open to institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico that offer an American Chemical Society-approved program in chemistry and confer 10 or fewer graduate degrees annually in biology and chemistry combined.

Funding supports research stipends for undergraduate students and ancillary programs that encourage research collaborations between biology and chemistry departments. The other 13 institutions who received the same grant include Boise State University, Claflin University, Colorado State University, Francis Marion University, Juniata College, Muhlenberg University, North Carolina A&T University, Northern Michigan University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Roger Williams University, Union College, University of the District of Columbia, and the University of Tulsa.

The Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE) is a tax-exempt private foundation established in 1993 to improve science education in the public schools. Now expanded to include college and graduate-level education, MISE works to build capacity in the biomedical sciences through partnerships with education institutions.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science. AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, reaching 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more.