November Application Deadline for
Expanded Merck/AAAS Program

The Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program (USRP) was launched in 1993 to forge interdisciplinary bonds between biology and chemistry by providing undergraduate students with research experience that would encourage them to pursue graduate studies. The program targets small liberal arts colleges that confer annually 10 or fewer graduate degrees in biology or chemistry combined.

Only public and private colleges and universities in the United States may apply for the program, and their chemistry departments must have been approved by the American Chemical Society.

The application deadline for the 2001-2003 awards is 10 November 2000, and winners of the awards will be announced in February 2001, coincident with the AAAS Annual Meeting.

News of the expanded program has inspired more than 200 email messages to AAAS from educators interested in applying for the awards, according to Jeffrey Charvat, senior program associate in AAAS's Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs.

Paula Dehn, chair of the biology department in Canisius College, which received an award in 1997, recommends that applicants have in mind a defined "doable" project with strong evidence of collaboration between the chemistry and biology departments.

"You need people who are enthusiastic about working together from a multi-disciplinary point of view," Dehn said. "It's a struggle, but in the long run it's worth the effort because it grows into a lot of other opportunities for collaboration."

More information on the Merck/AAAS program is available by contacting the program representative at Merck@aaas.org.