2008 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Programs Announced by Merck and AAAS

Fourteen colleges and universities have been selected for awards 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.

This year's winners are Boise State University, Boise, Idaho; Clafin University, Orangeburg, S.C.; Colorado State University, Pueblo, Colo.; Francis Marion University, Florence, S.C.; Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minn.; Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pa.; Muhlenberg University, Allentown, Pa.; North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, N.C.; Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Mich., Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y.; Roger WIlliams University, Bristol, R.I.; Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.; University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.; University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla.

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.

About the Merck Institute for Science Education

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.

For more information about the Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Research program, visit the Web site.

Molly McElroy

17 February 2008