About Us
Prize
Symposia
Programs and Awards
Award Announcements
News
Year in Review
Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions
Deadline: May 20, 2013
Announcement: early August 2013
The Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship awards provide an $18,500 grant to bring a leading researcher to a primarily undergraduate institution to give a series of lectures in the chemical sciences and to support two undergraduates in summer research. One of the lectures should be of a more general nature and accessible to a wide audience. The remaining lecture(s) may be more technical. The lecturer is expected to substantially interact with undergraduate students and faculty over the period of the visit. The undergraduates are expected to engage with mentors in contemporary research.
Eligibility
Applications for the Lectureship award are accepted from departments in the chemical sciences at primarily undergraduate institutions in the States, Districts, and Territories of the United States of America. Eligible departments grant a BS or MS degree in chemistry, but not a PhD. Institutions are restricted to only one application annually for this program. Institutions that receive an award are not eligible to re-apply for five years.
Selection
The application is evaluated based upon the following:
- examples of the proposed invited lecturer and schedule of the visit, which is expected to be a minimum of two days
- a description of the department’s efforts in scholarly research and education in the contemporary chemical sciences. Cited examples of the latter should include, but are not limited to:
- descriptions of the faculty research programs
- internal and external research support
- undergraduate participation in research
- in addition, the following may also be included:
- special educational or outreach efforts
- the historical number of chemistry majors, and the number of those that go on to graduate school in the chemical sciences.
Nominations are reviewed by distinguished faculty in the chemical sciences.
Budget
The award total is $18,500. Of this amount, $2,500 is an honorarium for the lecturer, and $5,000 is to be allocated to the support of the lectures (for example: travel, accommodation, receptions and/or dinners, etc.). The remaining $11,000 is to support the summer research of two undergraduate students. Each stipend is to be no less than $4,500. The balance may be used to defray costs associated with the research and/or the scientific advancement of each student, e.g., travel to scientific meetings. Charges associated with indirect costs or institutional overhead are not allowed.
Application Procedure
All materials must be received at the Foundation office by the deadline. The application is limited to nine pages, including the online application form. It should be formatted on 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper, using a 12-point font. Assemble it as:
1. The online application form (HERE)
2. A brief introduction to the department
3. A listing of the department faculty with their educational backgrounds cited, a brief description of their research programs, a list of three representative research publications and current and recent external support for each.
4. A description of undergraduate involvement in research
5. Examples of the proposed lecturers and topics
6. Proposed schedule of the lectures and activities that demonstrate engagement of the lecturer with students and faculty
7. A description of how the lecturer might integrate into ongoing departmental interests
8. A description of the process to select the undergraduate research students
9. A simple budget describing how award funds are anticipated to be used
Please generate all above materials as a single PDF and e-mail it to: programs@dreyfus.org. Applications recommended for approval are presented to the Foundation's Board of Directors and announced by early August 2013.
Reports
A brief report is due after the lectureship and a second report upon completion of the undergraduate research. Reports should be concise and contain the following information:
Lectureship report:
1. A summary description of the lectureship, including titles, photographs and/or video footage, promotional materials, invited audience, and approximate attendance.
2. A description of the lecturer’s engagement activities
3. A simple financial statementUndergraduate Research report:
1. Description of the research activities, curricula vitae of the mentors, and the students' future plans
2. Categorical financial report
Please send each report as a single PDF to: programs@dreyfus.org.
Additional information
1. Publications and presentations describing research supported by the award should acknowledge the Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions.
2. Procedural questions may be directed to the Foundation office by e-mail at programs@dreyfus.org or by telephone at 212-753-1760.
Bard College, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: Robert Grubbs, CalTech, September 2013
Students: to be selected
Colgate University, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: to be selected
Students: to be selected
Eastern Michigan University, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: to be selected
Students: to be selected
Villanova University, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: Daniel Nocera, MIT, April 2013
Students: to be selected
Willamette University, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: to be selected
Students: to be selected
2011 Awards
Northern Kentucky University, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: to be selected
Students: to be selected
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Speaker: Daniel Nocera, MIT, May 2012
Students: Ryan Lehane and Amanda Stubbs
University of San Diego, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Speaker: Colin Nuckolls, Columbia Univ., April 2012
Students: Jeff O’Brien, Weiye Guan, and Randall Clendenen
University of St. Thomas, Department of Chemistry
Speaker: Jay Keasling, Univ. California, Berkeley, May 2013
Students: Thomas Gentile and Amer Schoenecker
Wellesley College, Chemistry Department
Speaker: Laura Kiessling, Univ. Wisconsin, September 2012
Students: Maria Jun and Alexandra Fischer
2010 Awards
Bucknell University, Chemistry Department
Speaker: Richard Zare, Stanford Univ., October 2012
Students: Will Butcher and Mike Mattei
Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges, Joint Science Department
Speaker: Uma Chowdhry, DuPont, April 2012
Students: Su Anne Lee and Andrew Vinson
College of the Holy Cross, Chemistry Department
Speaker: Roald Hoffmann, Cornell Univ., April 2011
Students: Mitchell Shetter and Christopher Shugrue
Western Washington University, Chemistry Department
Speaker: Chris Reddy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., February 2011
Students: Leanne Sebren and Ian Smith
Jean Dreyfus Boissevain was President of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation from 1956 until her death in 1991. Born in Chicago, in 1931 she married Camille Dreyfus, founder and chairman of the Celanese Corporation of America and of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. Her second husband, Ernest W. Boissevain, died in 1984.
An operatic soprano and patron of the arts, as Jean Tennyson she sang with several leading European and American opera companies, including La Scala in Milan, the Chicago Civic Opera, and the San Francisco Opera Company. She also sang on the CBS Radio program “Great Moments in Music” from 1942 to 1946.
After World War II, Mrs. Boissevain founded the Artists Veterans Hospital Programs of the Musicians Emergency Fund, which presented concerts for patients in veterans hospitals. She also served as a patron of the Philharmonic Society of New York and as vice chair of New York City’s Lewisohn Stadium Concerts. She was a trustee of the New York City Opera and a principal supporter of the Spoleto Festival.
Mrs. Boissevain received several awards, including the Stella della Solidarieta from the Italian government, the St. Olaf Medal from the King of Norway, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Vermont.