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ACS Petroleum Research Fund celebrates 65 years

Past award recipients share the impact that receiving a Petroleum Research Fund grant had on their careers

by Linda Wang
September 19, 2020 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 98, Issue 36

Photo of Stephen Craig and his research group.
Credit: Courtesy of Stephen Craig
Stephen Craig (third from left in back row) with his research group in 2019 in a photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic

Say the words “Petroleum Research Fund,” and many faculty will vividly recall how receiving seed money from the American Chemical Society played an instrumental role in launching their careers. In fact, more than 230 previous grantees shared their PRF story with ACS as part of the 65th anniversary celebration of the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF).

“The $25,000 award I received from PRF a year into my independent career did everything it was supposed to do: it helped to get critical early results that laid the foundation for new projects and larger grant applications down the road. It also gave me early, critical feedback on my ideas,” Stephen L. Craig, the William T. Miller Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Duke University, says in his PRF story. “The specific project of that PRF award is no longer active in my lab, but I can still trace the intellectual path of much of what we do back to that early PRF-funded activity.”

Katherine Giles, chair of the Committee on the Petroleum Research Fund, which oversees the ACS Office of Research Grants, says PRF grants not only have been instrumental in launching the careers of faculty but also have encouraged established faculty to initiate new research directions and provided undergraduate faculty with funding for students. Giles, who is a professor of geological sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, recently shared her PRF story in an ACS Comment (C&EN June 1, 2020, page 36).

ACS PRF was created in 1954 after assets were transferred from the PRF Trust, which was established in 1944 after the settlement of a court case involving a group of petroleum companies that had misused patents. The name Petroleum Research Fund stuck, even though the fund today has no connection to petroleum companies or the petroleum industry. The first grants were awarded in 1955. ACS PRF supports fundamental research directly related to petroleum or fossil fuels and has awarded more than $700 million in funding to faculty at academic institutions. Thirty Nobel laureates have received PRF funding at some point during their careers.

Four types of PRF grants are available: Doctoral New Investigator grants, which are starter grants for new faculty from PhD-granting departments; New Directions grants, which provide faculty from PhD-granting colleges and universities with funding to take their research in a new direction; Undergraduate Research grants, which support faculty from nondoctoral departments; and Undergraduate New Investigator grants, which provide seed money to new faculty from nondoctoral departments.

In the collection of PRF stories, faculty at all stages of their careers echoed the life-changing impact of receiving a PRF grant. “I vividly remember the immense joy when I received the official confirmation of funding by snail mail, which lifted an enormous burden of anxiety from my shoulders,” writes Arndt Schimmelmann, a senior scientist in earth and atmospheric sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. “It was of paramount importance for my self-esteem and my resolve to continue my career in isotope geochemistry. Being close to retirement now, I can honestly state that PRF made a big impact in my life.”

Photo of six researchers standing in a rock formation.
Credit: Courtesy of Sara Pruss
Sara Pruss (center) and her students during a field excursion in 2019 in a photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic

Sara Pruss, an associate professor of geosciences at Smith College, says the PRF grant she received enabled her to move into a new research area studying mercury concentrations in ancient sedimentary rocks and to collaborate with geologist David Jones of Amherst College. “He and I worked closely in the writing of the initial SPICE/Hg paper that was published this year, and we co-led two field excursions in summer 2019. As a result, I have furthered my understanding of [mercury] in sedimentary systems and generated numerous projects for undergraduate students.”

A presidential symposium during the ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting and Expo also showcased research by past PRF recipients, including Robert H. Grubbs of California Institute of Technology; Joan Brennecke of the University of Texas at Austin; Richmond Sarpong of the University of California, Berkeley; Harry Gray of Caltech; and Giles.

In addition, the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) has published a special open-access virtual issue featuring the range of research that the grantees have engaged in. The issue includes articles published in JACS by chemists who have received PRF funding. The special issue is available at https://bit.ly/33v0YLv.

The ACS Office of Research Grants is now accepting proposals for PRF grants. Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 16. To learn more about PRF, read the PRF stories, or apply for a grant, visit www.acsprf.org.

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