Special Endowed Funds Support Grants in Aid of Research

Since the first Sigma Xi grants were awarded in 1922, donations from members and supporters have helped young researchers come up higher. 

In addition to small gifts, exceptional donations have expanded the Grants in Aid endowment by creating the special Named Funds listed below and ensured the continued support of future generations of scientists and engineers.

For more information on how you can support the Grants in Aid of Research Program visit the GIAR Centennial Campaign page or email the Development Department.

It has been a strong feeling of mine Fuller_Calvinthat we older ones who have learned the satisfactions and the value to society of scientific work should try to make the way into science easier for promising young scientists.

Calvin Fuller (Sigma Xi 1928) upon creating his Named Fund in 1981 where he described the Grants in Aid of Research Program as “just the ticket” to accomplishing the goal of supporting promising young scientists.

Calvin Fuller was a physical chemist at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1930 to 1967) and was co-inventor of the Silicon Solar Cell (Patent #: 2,780,765)

Sigma Xi Named Funds

Individuals who create a Named Fund express a preference for type of researcher, geographical region or field of research (as stated below).  The GIAR Program honors those wishes pending the identification of suitable grant applications.

  • ALCOA Chapter Fund – chemistry, physics or material sciences with stated geographic and institutional preferences.
  • J. Daniel Bode Fund – chemistry research
  • California Institute of Technology Chapter Fund – general research with a preference for students at CAL Tech or any undergraduate student attending a college or university in southern California
  • Gordon B. and Beth L. Carson Fund - engineering students at ABET-accredited departments at institutions in the United States 
  • Nicholas C. Christofilos Fund  - engineering, especially radio communication engineering
  • Copernicus Fund – general research, especially research in unconventional ideas that could have a significant impact on science and society
  • Janet Hayes Davis Fund  - research by undergraduate female students attending a liberal arts college
  • Jean C. Emmer Fund  - biology, especially research helping animals and mankind
  • Gregory Walker Estes Fund - basic research in chemistry, preferably on problems related to medicine or energy sources
  • Evan Ferguson Fund - in honor of a former staff member of Sigma Xi (24 years), this award supports research in the biological sciences.  See Evan Ferguson Award for more information on Dr. Ferguson.
  • Calvin S. Fuller Fund - projects in chemistry, physics, biochemistry and biophysics with preference to projects that will aid in developing the world's energy sources
  • John J. and Anna H. Gallagher Fund – biology with a preference to basic research in the natural history of rotifers and other lesser-known microscopic invertebrates
  • DC Chapter (Formerly Robert Gary) Fund – general research with a preference for students at institutions in the greater Washington, D.C. area, students at liberal arts colleges in Virginia or Maryland and foreign students.
  • Eugene and Millicent C. Goldschmidt Fund - in support of women conducting research in Microbiology
  • Jon W. Gosser Fund – supporting research in all fields of science, especially psychology
  • Anne-Louise and Edward J. Gracyalny Fund – general research with a preference towards research on hereditary mental illness or allergy research
  • David E. Hausburg Fund – biology research, especially microbiology
  • Hydor Fund – created by Roland Queneau to support general research with a preference to water projects or environmental and sanitary engineering
  • William E. Jackson Memorial Fund - aeronautical physics and related areas
  • Katherine G. Kron Fund – astronomy research
  • Calvin and Helen Lang Fund – biochemistry with a preference for nutritional or gerontological biochemistry
  • Jackie B. Langston Fund – general research with a preference for sustainable agriculture, economics, or social science
  • Jane and Herbert Longenecker Fund – biochemistry with a preference for nutrition research
  • Earl Lovejoy Memorial Fund - geology with a preference for studies of the Basin and Range Province of the western United States
  • John Manley Memorial Fund – research in physics and geology
  • John P. McGovern Fund – Created by the Founder of the renowned McGovern Allergy Clinic in Houston, this award supports research in chemistry or biochemistry with a preference towards immunology or allergies.  See John P. McGovern Science and Society Award for more information on Dr. McGovern.
  • Edith Neimark Fund – social science research
  • Ohio State University Fund – research projects in all fields of science conducted by students at Ohio State University
  • Oregon Chapter Fund – research projects in all fields of science conducted by students in Oregon colleges and universities
  • Jan A. Rajchman Fund – computer research, especially neural computing
  • Leroy Record Fund – created by a former electrical engineer at General Electric who pioneered research in vacuum tubes used in early radar systems.  This award supports research in all fields of science and engineering.  See Leroy Record Heritage Society for more information on Leroy Record.
  • William W. Rigrod Fund  - engineering research
  • Rutgers University Chapter Fund – research projects in all fields of science conducted by students at Rutgers University
  • Sargent-Faull Fund – biological research with a preference to studies on spiders or rust fungi
  • Harlow Shapley Fund – all fields of science with a preference to students at Harvard University of institutions in the Boston area
  • Richard H. and Nancy O. Siderits Fund – biology, especially parabiotics and digital biodynamics.
  • SIGCHI Fund - established by the Association for Computing Machinery, the fund supports computer science research especially the human-computer interface
  • Simons-Monroe Fund  - basic research in pure science with emphasis speculative and innovative areas of scientific research for which funding is more difficult to obtain
  • Swarthmore Chapter Fund – research projects in all fields of science conducted by students at Swarthmore College
  • URIC Fund - established by the University Research Institute of Connecticut to support general research with a preference for students at institutions in Connecticut.
  • Washington University Chapter Fund – research projects in all fields of science conducted by students at Washington University
  • Hsien Wu and Daisy Yen Wu Fund –biochemistry with a preference for research in nutrition or physiology
  • Yale Chapter Fund – research projects of students at Yale University
  • Sigma Xi General Fund – donations of less than $25,000 from members of Sigma Xi are endowed into the Sigma Xi General Fund that supports research in all fields of science and engineering.  This is the single largest source of funding for Grants-in-Aid of Research.

For more information on how you can support the Grants in Aid of Research Program visit the GIAR Centennial Campaign page or contact Michael D’Ambrosio, Major Gifts Officer at Sigma Xi, at (703) 209-4628 or mdambrosio@sigmaxi.org.

Special Funding

  • Sigma Xi Fund of Canada – research projects in all fields of science conducted by of students in Canadian colleges and universities

National Academy of Sciences Named Funds

Since 1984, the National Academy of Sciences has contracted with the Society to distribute the Academy’s funds designated for research. Funds from the National Academy of Sciences allow for grants of up to $5,000 for astronomy research and $2,500 for vision related research. Academy funds designated for research include:

  • Alexander Bache Fund - physical and natural sciences research
  • Edmond and Marianne Blaauw Fund - research with implications for human vision, this fund allows for grants of up to $2,500
  • Wolcott Gibbs Fund – research in chemistry
  • Benjamin Apthrop Gould Fund - astronomy research, this fund allows for grants of up to $5,000
  • Joseph Henry Fund - natural sciences research
  • O. C. Marsh Fund - natural sciences research
  • George P. Merrill Fund - research in meteors, meteorites and space, this fund allows for grants of up to $5000
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