News & Comment
Press Releases
Spotlight on Dr. Tom Wenzel
Thomas Wenzel, Bates College Charles A. Dana Professor of Chemistry, received an early career grant from RCSA in 1982, to develop a method that uses lanthanide ions as fluorescent probes in chromatographic detections. This fall Wenzel, an analytical chemist, received the prestigious RCSA-sponsored American Chemical Society's 25th Annual Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution.
Learning by Doing
Dr. Moses Lee leads by example, and his students learn by doing.
Research Corporation for Science Advancement Announces Scialog
Major Research Initiative, Designed To Accelerate 21st-Century Transformational Science, Will Initially Focus on Solar Energy Conversion
Research Awards to Improve Science Education in Arizona High Schools
Research Corporation for Science Advancement supports grants to improve science education in Arizona High Schools.
Presidential Perspective
Arizona Legislature Takes a Backward Step
Short-sighted Arizona legislators are cutting $22.5 million in funding for Science Foundation Arizona.
Reaffirming Our Commitment
In a letter to the RCSA community, foundation President James Gentile discusses the role of philanthropy during an economic downturn.
Keeping the U.S. a World Leader in Science
The United States has begun to stumble as a world leader in science and technology.
Science vs. Politics - The Shameful History
The Associated Press reported recently that the U.S. and China were seeking to change language in a draft report written by hundreds of the world's leading climatologist, who have concluded that quick action could limit looming disasters associated with global warming.
Science Issues
Tucson Business Community Honors Former RCSA President
The Tucson Chamber of Commerce has honored Dr. John P. Schaefer, former president of Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), with its 2009 Founders' Award for his "extraordinary leadership" over the past 40 years.
CCSA Awardee Timothy Marin Receives NSF Grant
Dr. Timothy Marin, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at Benedictine University, received a $74,599 grant from NSF to continue his research started with RCSA. Dr. Marin is continuing his study of high temperature and supercritical water. His initial project,
Creating Future Science: The Role of Private Foundations in Shaping Research Activities at PUIs
Among the many challenges American science faces these days is a scarcity of research funds (public and private) at the very time the nation urgently needs a well-trained workforce to help it maintain a leading role in research, as other nations rapidly develop their scientific and technological infrastructures.
Learning from the Nobel Prizes in Science
Dr. James Gentile, RCSA president and CEO, writes occasional and inspiring stories for The Huffington Post. "These awards speak volumes about the key role of immigration in American scientific leadership. As a nation, we have our work cut out for us, if we want to maintain scientific leadership."
An experiment in transformative research
Igniting a transformative spark is precisely what RCSA has been doing for nearly a century. With Scialog, we hope to take our mission of science advancement to an even higher level. Our goal is nothing less than to help save the planet.
Loosen up, people
The worst thing that can happen to a scientist is to publish something that turns out to be wrong. It can wreck a person's career. All of us live in fear of it. And yet, should we?
Summer Institute to Improve University Science Teachng
RCSA has partnered with Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Research Council of the National Academies and several major research universities in a growing movement to upgrade the quality of science instruction in American colleges and universities. This Science article, authored in part by RCSA President & CEO James M. Gentile, details one segment of that movement -- to transform big, introductory science classes into more effective learning environments by encouraging instructors to adopt new skills and techniques.
A Bad Economy is a Spur to Innovation
A tough economy underscores the importance of supporting scientists who may someday make large discoveries with the potential for economic development
Research Corporation for Science Advancement in High Society
The late 1930s were a halcyon time for Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA). Having survived the Great Depression, the foundation was headquartered in the newly constructed Chrysler Building, overlooking Manhattan.
America's Future is Spelled 'STEM'
While China, India and even tiny Singapore are rapidly improving their STEM curricula and upping by the thousands their numbers of graduates in STEM fields, it's a shameful fact that fewer than 15 percent of American college and university students are pursuing STEM degrees.
Challenge and Opportunity
Cheer up, folks - as a problem-solving nation, our current economic pain could mean the opportunity for immense, long-term gain. Suddenly we have an unprecedented opening to develop America 6.0, an energy-independent powerhouse whose citizens have a profound understanding of the value of scientific research to move the economy - and civilization itself - on to bigger and better things.
Arizona must not eat its young
James M. Gentile, president of Research Corporation for Science Advancement, makes a plea for self-determination for Arizona's universities in the face of necessary state budget cuts.
America's Scientific Dream Team
America can take heart from President Obama's attitude toward science.
Steven Chu, Energy Chief
President-elect Obama's choice of Steven Chu for America's top energy job is a wise move and signals a serious orientation toward renewable resources.
From the Archives
The Williams-Waterman Fund's attempt to alleviate suffering in Haiti had mixed results, at best.
The Ill Effects of Flat Federal Funding
Dr. Brent Iverson, Ph.D., a member of Research Corporation for Science Advancement's Board of Directors, recently testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
Cottrell Scholar Awards
Spotlight on: Teri Odom
Professor Teri W. Odom, a 2005 Cottrell Scholar and associate professor of Chemistry, Dow Chemical Company Research Professor in the Weinberg College of Arts and at Northwestern University, defines herself as a "risk taker." She embraces transformative research as a norm in her research and in her teaching.
2009 Cottrell Scholar Awards
$100,000 Each For 10 Scientist-Educators Named Cottrell Scholars 2009
In Search of Unifying Themes
Richard Taylor bridges the extreme divides between nanotechnology, art, biology, architecture and psychology
'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility'
Cottrell Scholar Seth M. Cohen, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, says President Obama's landmark speech on science policy requires all scientists to respond.
Application Deadline Change
The application deadline for the 2010 Cottrell Scholar Awards has changed from September 1, 2009, to April 1, 2010.
Spotlight on: Mats Selen
Physics Professor and former RCSA Science Advancement Advisory Committee member Dr. Mats Selen is a leader in experimental physics. Selen is forging pathways in particle astrophysics.
Out of Gas
The End of the Age of Oil
Cottrell Scholar Impact
A consistent theme at Cottrell Scholar meetings is how one achieves lasting educational reforms.
One factor is the Cottrell Scholar awards themselves, and the long time-frame associated with support given to the Scholars.
The 'Missing Link' Problem: One professor's efforts to build student interest in science
Call it the 'missing link' problem. Like many other educators, Professor Yi Lu has faced this challenge of academia; unlike many of his colleagues, however, Lu, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) professor and a 1997 Cottrell Scholar, has made a big effort to face the challenge
Knight of the Round Tables: How NCSU's Robert Beichner teaches physics to undergrads
When it comes to supercharging education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at our nation's colleges and universities, perhaps we should ask for help from America's third-grade teachers.