Merck / AAAS Announce 2003 Winners
for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Programs

The Merck Company Foundation and AAAS today announced winners of the 2003 awards for the Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program.

This year's winners are Birmingham-Southern College, Calvin College, College of Staten Island/CUNY, Davidson College, Earlham College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lebanon Valley College, Marist College, State University College at Buffalo, State University of New York-Geneseo, University of Redlands, Viterbo University, Wheaton College, and Wilkes University.

The Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program (USRP) is a national competitive awards program available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Fifteen awards are made annually, and each award provides up to $60,000, paid over three years at $20,000 per year, for joint use by the biology and chemistry departments at each recipient institution. The funding supports research stipends for undergraduate students and ancillary programs that foster interactions between these departments.

Launched in 2000 as a national competition, awards will be made through 2009. This ten-year, $9 million initiative is funded by The Merck Company Foundation and administered by AAAS. The program goals are to:

• enhance undergraduate education through research experiences that emphasize the interrelationship between chemistry and biology;
• encourage students to pursue graduate education in chemistry and life sciences; and
• foster undergraduate programs and activities that bridge chemistry and biology.

The program is open to qualified 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. For additional information, send questions merck@aaas.org or visit the website at www.merckaaasusrp.org.

The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based private, charitable foundation. Established in 1957 by Merck & Co., Inc., the Foundation is funded entirely by the company. Key priorities of the foundation's mission are advancing biomedical science training and education and improving access to health care worldwide.

14 February 2003