HOLLAND - Hope College has received a grant from The Merck Company Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) through the Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program.

Hope was one of only 15 institutions nationwide to receive one of the three-year, $60,000 awards, which the college had also received in 2001. The funding supports research stipends for undergraduate students and related programs that foster interaction between biology and chemistry.

The award will provide stipends for a total of 12 students conducting summer research at the college, four per year. Hope will also use the grant for supplies, some related travel expenses, and to bring in a guest scientist to work with the students.

The project directors are Dr. Christopher Barney, who is the T. Elliott Weier Professor of Biology at Hope, and Dr. Joanne Stewart, professor of chemistry at the college.

The Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program is a national competitive awards program available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Launched in 2000 as a national competition, the program will make 15 awards each year through 2009. The 10-year, $9 million initiative is funded by The Merck Company Foundation and administered by AAAS.

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

The program is open to qualified institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico that offer an American Chemical Society-certified program in chemistry and confer 10 or fewer graduate degrees annually in biology and chemistry combined.

The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based, private charitable foundation. Established in 1957 by Merck & Co. Inc. and funded entirely by the company, the foundation serves as Merck's chief source of funding support to qualified non-profit, charitable organizations. The mission of the foundation is to help address important societal needs in local, national and international communities with a focus on improving access to health care; advancing biomedical science training; promoting innovation and economic growth in an ethical business environment; and helping to strengthen communities. Since its inception in 1957, the foundation has given more than $350 million to improve health care, advance biomedical education, and support social services and arts and cultural, environmental, civic and other charitable organizations.

The AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal "Science." AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, including 10 million individuals. "Science" has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of one million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more.

In addition to Hope, this year's winners are Bowdoin College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Furman University, Harvey Mudd College, McNeese State University, North Central College, Northern Kentucky University, Oakland University, Otterbein College, Seattle University, St. Olaf College, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Ursinus College and Vassar College.

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