Robert A. Welch Foundation

The Welch Foundation, based in Houston, Texas, is one of the United States' oldest and largest private funding sources for chemistry researchers. It is a non-profit organization named for Robert Alonzo Welch, an industrialist whose will provided the funds to set up the foundation, along with scholarships, endowments, and funding for chemical research. Since its founding in 1954, the organization has contributed to the advancement of chemistry through research grants, departmental programs, endowed chairs, visiting lectureships, scholarships, and other special projects at educational institutions in Texas. The foundation hosts an annual chemical research conference in Houston that attracts leading chemists.

Grants, scholarships, endowments, and awards

• The Welch Award in chemistry, currently a $300,000 award; nominations are due February 1 each year^[1]
• The Norman Hackerman award in chemical research, currently a $100,000 award, which recognizes the work of young researchers in Texas.^[2]
• The Robert A. Welch TILF (Texas Interscholastic League Foundation) Scholarship for students who participated in the University Interscholastic League and who wish to pursue a degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, or biochemistry. Currently $14,000^[3] per student.
• Research Grants support fundamental chemical research at universities, colleges, or other educational institutions within the state of Texas.
• Departmental Grants support chemical research by members of the chemistry department faculty at educational institutions in Texas.
• Endowed Chairs provide a faculty position for an eminent scientist. To be considered for an endowed chair, a Texas education institution must have a Ph.D. program in chemistry.

Past Welch Award recipients

Year	Recipient	Rationale[4]
1972	Karl August Folkers, The University of Texas at Austin	For his basic research in the area of life sciences.
1974	Albert Eschenmoser, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology	For his profound and highly creative contributions to synthetic chemistry.
1976	Neil Bartlett, University of California, Berkeley	For his synthesis of chemical compounds of noble gases and the consequent opening of broad new fields of research in inorganic chemistry.
1978	Edgar Bright Wilson, Harvard University	For his pioneering theoretical and experimental contributions to molecular structure.
1980	Sune Bergström, Karolinska Institute	For his pioneering studies of the prostaglandins.
1981	Paul Doughty Bartlett, Texas Christian University	For his original investigations of the mechanisms of organic reactions.
1982	Frank Westheimer, Harvard University	For his significant achievements in the field of bioorganic chemistry.
1983	Henry Taube, Stanford University	For his contributions to the field of chemistry, particularly in inorganics.
1984	Kenneth Pitzer, University of California, Berkeley	For his theory for the internal rotation of groups within molecules.
1985	Duilio Arigoni, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology	For his contributions of founding the field of bioorganic stereochemistry.
1986	George C. Pimentel, University of California, Berkeley	For his contribution to the field of hydrogen bonding, matrix isolation, and chemical lasers.
1987	Harry George Drickamer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	For his research on the effects of pressure on optical, electrical magnetic and chemical properties of matter.
1988	Richard Barry Bernstein, University of California, Los Angeles	For his pioneering research in chemical dynamics, thereby providing a new understanding of chemical reactions.
1989	Norman R. Davidson, California Institute of Technology	For his pioneering research contributions to the understanding of the structure and function of genetic materials, especially for his novel techniques which had a powerful influence in this field.
1990	John D. Roberts, California Institute of Technology	For his integration of molecular spectroscopy, quantum mechanics, kinetics and other aspects of physical chemistry with his talent for organic synthesis. In the application of these intertwined disciplines to the study of structure activities of organic molecules.
1990	William von Eggers Doering, Harvard University	For his critical contribution into fundamental aspects of physical organic chemistry. Among his many other important contributions, his work on the carbenes was a pioneering effort which opened a broad field.
1991	Earl R. Stadtman, National Institutes of Health	For his work in demonstrating that covalent interconvertible enzyme cascades provide the cell with a finely tuned regulatory mechanism capable of integrating a vast amount of metabolic information, and that they have a remarkable potential for amplification signals and rates.
1991	Edwin G. Krebs, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington	For his part in showing that interconversion of phosphorylase between its active and inactive forms involved phosphorylation/ dephosphorylation, a process fundamental to the regulation of nearly every vital biological function.
1992	Richard Smalley, Rice University	For his career contributions to physical chemistry, including his development and use of supersonic molecular beam techniques for the study of clusters, ions, and molecules.
1993	Gilbert Stork, Columbia University	For his work in developing new methods in organic synthesis and as a mentor to leading synthetic chemists all over the world. He has profoundly influenced the way scientists think about natural product synthesis in general and stereochemical control in particular.
1994	Jack Halpern, The University of Chicago	For his contributions to understanding reaction mechanisms not only of inorganic chemicals but of complex organometallic reactions systems as well; also for his contributions to understanding the field of homogeneous catalysis in solution.
1994	F. Albert Cotton, Texas A&M University	For his work leading to our current understanding of multiple bonds of metal-metal bonding of transition metal chemistry and for his major impact in the field of inorganic and structural chemistry by virtue of his own work and the numerous individuals who worked in his laboratory as students or postdoctoral fellows.
1995	Jeremy R. Knowles, Harvard University	For his important contributions to mechanistic enzymology.
1995	Robert H. Abeles, Brandeis University	For his contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms of catalysis by enzymes and to the rational development of compounds that inactivate enzymes.
1996	Koji Nakanishi, Columbia University	For his major contribution to our greater understanding of and our capacity to use many of the bioactive compounds found in nature.
1997	Ahmed Zewail, California Institute of Technology	For his leadership and pioneering contribution to all phases of femtosecond chemistry.
1998	Pierre Chambon, College de France	For his achievements in the field of nuclear receptors which have paved the way to a molecular understanding of vertebrate fundamental processes as well as their pathological disorders.
1999	Richard Zare, Stanford University	For his seminal contributions in the area of chemical reaction dynamics and in the general field of molecular spectroscopy.
2000	A. Ian Scott, Texas A&M University	For his great contributions to organic chemistry and biochemistry, especially the elegant use of every physical and biological tool available to solve complex structural and mechanistic problems in natural product chemistry and biosynthesis, e.g., vitamin B12. He has provided concepts and methodologies which have been fruitful to many others.
2000	Sir Alan R. Battersby, Cambridge University	For his work which is well described as the biosynthesis of the pigments of life. It represents one of the major and most significant enterprises in contemporary chemistry and has transformed knowledge of the biosynthesis of such vital substances as vitamin B12.
2001	Roger D. Kornberg, Stanford University	For his seminal contributions in biological and structural chemistry: (1) the discovery, basic structure and function of nucleosome; (2) the discovery of the multiprotein Mediator of transcriptional regulation; and (3) the structures of the giant RNA polymerase II transcription initiation and elongation complexes.
2002	Harden M. McConnell, Stanford University	For his thorough understanding of magnetic resonance and its use in achieving greater insight into chemical systems including reaction dynamics, magnetic resonance imaging and membrane phenomenon.
2003	Ronald Breslow, Columbia University	For his pioneering contributions to the field of biomimetic chemistry and catalysis by design.
2004	Allen J. Bard, The University of Texas at Austin	For his major accomplishments in the field of electrochemistry and the effect of these on the discipline of chemistry itself.
2005	George M. Whitesides, Harvard University	For the breadth and depth of his insight into chemical processes and his astute use of this understanding in approaching and solving many difficult problems in organic chemistry, biochemistry, biology, material science and surface science.
2006	Daniel E. Koshland, Jr., University of California, Berkeley	For his consistent and highly effective use of basic chemical principles to bring to greater clarity chemical processes in complex biological systems.
2007	William H. Miller, University of California, Berkeley	For pioneering development of the modern theory of chemical reaction dynamics and rates.
2007	Noel S. Hush, University of Sydney	For fundamental work on the theory of homogeneous and heterogeneous electron transfer and contributions in the area of molecular electronics.
2008	Alexander Rich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology	For outstanding contributions to the understanding of the chemical and biochemical mechanisms in maintaining a living cell.
2009	Harry B. Gray, California Institute of Technology	For definitive contributions to the field of inorganic chemistry.
2010	JoAnne Stubbe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Christopher T. Walsh, Harvard Medical School	For their insights into the chemistry of enzymes in biological systems.

References

1. ^ Welch Award in Chemistry
2. ^ Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research
3. ^ TILF Scholarships
4. ^ Previous Recipients

External links

• The Welch Foundation website