FAQ
Why is Research Corporation for Science Advancement a "corporation?" How is it a foundation?
Research Corporation for Science Advancement is one of the country's first foundations, established before the term "foundation" came into popular use (the Carnegie Corporation is another nonprofit that shares this terminology). Research Corporation was established in New York State in 1912 as a stock-issuing corporation that would own all of its own stock and could never pay dividends. Its original objectives were to develop donated inventions and to use any income from the original electrostatic precipitator invention for grants to perform scholarly research.
What does Research Corporation for Science Advancement do?
Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private operating foundation that aids basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, and physics mainly) at U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities. It supports ideas independently proposed by college and university faculty members and carries on activities related to science advancement.
Does Research Corporation for Science Advancement claim rights to inventions that result from the research it supports?
No. Research Corporation for Science Advancement awards are granted to recognize inventive scientists and support meritorious research and training in the physical sciences. The foundation does urge that efforts be made to further the development and application of potentially useful discoveries but does not claim rights to discovery.
Where does Research Corporation for Science Advancement's funding come from?
Research Corporation for Science Advancement's funds were initially derived from proceeds resulting from the electrostatic precipitator, the pollution-control device invented by its founder, Frederick Gardner Cottrell, and from inventions contributed by public-spirited scientists. The foundation was established solely with Dr. Cottrell's patent rights, making it necessary to first build a business designing and installing precipitators before funds for awards could be accumulated. This pollution control business was later sold, creating an endowment for Research Corporation. Additional funds for Research Corporation grants were provided in the past by the proceeds from inventions contributed by public-spirited scientists. These inventions included the first antifungal antibiotic (nystatin) donated by Elizabeth Hazen and Rachel Brown (1951); royalties from the commercial synthesis of vitamin B1 contributed by Robert R. Williams and Robert E. Waterman (1935); the patent on the maser-laser concept given by Charles H. Townes (1951); and the process for growing hybrid seed corn created by Donald F. Jones and Paul C. Mangelsdorf (1949); these funds were expended in their entirety for grants in the physical sciences and in areas of special interest to the contributing inventors. Today, Research Corporation’s operating funds are derived from an endowment based on the contributed proceeds.
Does Research Corporation for Science Advancement currently handle inventions?
No. Although for many years the Foundation did maintain an invention administration program for academic inventors and their institutions, in 1987 Research Corporation's invention administration program became the genesis for Research Corporation Technologies (RCT), a wholly independent company whose business is technology transfer.
Who provided start-up funds for Research Corporation for Science Advancement?
The original board of directors, made up of eminent scientists recruited by Dr. Cottrell and by Charles Doolittle Walcott, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. With the backing of the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, Walcott assisted Cottrell in founding Research Corporation, and served as its unpaid executive officer during its first years. The story is told in its entirety in Cottrell: Samaritan of Science, the biography by Frank Cameron, available from Research Corporation for Science Advancement's communications department.
How is Research Corporation for Science Advancement administered?
Research Corporation for Science Advancement is governed by its self-perpetuating Board of Directors. Its active members and emeritus members include many men and women who have distinguished themselves in academe, finance, industry and the professions. The foundation's president is Dr. James M. Gentile, former Dean for the Natural Sciences at Hope College in Holland, MI.
I've read your literature and program guidelines, but would like to ask specific questions. Who can I talk to?
For detailed questions pertaining to programs or awards, a program officer would be your best bet. They are available to talk to you at Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and they often visit college and university campuses to make direct contact with faculty members. Procedural questions on applying for awards may be found in specific program guidelines available on this website, or can be answered by any program staff member.
Research Corporation for Science Advacement’s communications department can answer general questions regarding the foundation and its operations. The communications department does documentary research and publishes on issues related to academic science, the Foundation's programs, its chartered objectives and its history; distributes newsletters, annual reports, books and occasional publications, and maintains the foundation's website (rcbooks@rescorp.org).