Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

People

100 Years Of Supporting Science

by Britt E. Erickson
April 9, 2012 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 90, Issue 15

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Smithsonian
Frederick Gardner Cottrell, inventor of the electrostatic precipitator and founder of Research Corporation.
Credit: Smithsonian

1912 Frederick G. Cottrell establishes Research Corporation in New York City.

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Shutterstock
Chrysler building in New York City
Credit: Shutterstock
[+]Enlarge
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Robert R. Williams (left) and Robert E. Waterman invented the commercial synthesis of thiamine, known as vitamin B1.
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
[+]Enlarge
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
In 1950, Research Corporation created Research-Cottrell, a tax-paying corporation focused on building and selling electrostatic precipitators. Research-Cottrell is shown here under construction.
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement

1923 Awards Robert H. Goddard a $5,000 grant to support his rocketry work.

1931 Relocates to the 38th floor of the Chrysler Building in New York City.

1935 Creates the Invention Administration Program to manage patents for universities and organizations; begins making awards on an annual basis.

1940 Establishes the Williams-Waterman Fund for the Combat of Dietary Diseases (1940–78) for nutrition-related research, supported by royalties from the patent on the commercial synthesis of thiamine, or vitamin B-1, developed by Robert Williams (left) and Robert Waterman.

1945 Establishes a formal grants program to encourage scientists returning from World War II to go back to the lab and inspire the next generation of scientists.

1949 Buys the 160-acre Doolittle Ranch in Colorado to house cosmic ray researchers.

1950 Creates Research-Cottrell, a taxpaying corporation that focuses on building and selling electrostatic precipitators.

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Rachel Brown (left) and Elizabeth Hazen discovered the first antifungal antibiotic, called nystatin, after their employer, NY state.
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement

1957 Begins receiving royalties from the patent of Rachel F. Brown (left) and Elizabeth L. Hazen for the first antifungal antibiotic, nystatin. The scientists donated more than $13 million to support training and research in biomedical sciences and to encourage women to pursue careers in science.

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology in 1975, now known as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, located in Edgewater, Maryland.
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement

1966 Establishes the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology, now known as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, in Edgewater, Md.

1982 Appoints John P. Schaefer as president and moved Research Corporation’s headquarters to Tucson.

1987 Spins off technology development and commercialization activities, creating Research Corporation Technologies.

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
The Large Binocular Telescope, built atop Mt. Graham in southeastern Arizona
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement

1988 Establishes Partners in Science program to fund partnerships between high school science teachers and research scientists at colleges and universities. Program is suspended in 1999 but reinstated in 2009.

1992 Begins funding construction of the Large Binocular Telescope atop Mount Graham in Arizona.

1994 Initiates the Cottrell Scholar Award for early-career faculty to improve undergraduate science education and to attract and retain students in the sciences.

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s logo.
Credit: Research Corporation for Science Advancement

2008 Changes its name to Research Corporation for Science Advancement and adopts a new logo.

2009 Initiates Scialog to support early-career faculty and to promote transformational and interdisciplinary science.

2012 Celebrates 100 years.

Advertisement

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.