2013 in Review
Letter from the President, Henry C. Walter
L
ast September we honored R. Graham
Basel. The first speaker chosen was
Cooks of Purdue University as the third
George Whitesides of Harvard University.
recipient of the biennial Dreyfus Prize in the
Details regarding his lectureship are
Chemical Sciences, conferred in chemical
described in this report.
instrumentation in 2013. He was cited for
his groundbreaking innovations in mass
The Foundation’s roster of Advisors will
spectrometry that have profoundly enriched
rotate in 2014, as the term of John Tully of
analytical chemistry. It was especially gratifying
Yale University will conclude in April. The
to see such a large and enthusiastic turnout
Board thanks John for eight years of his
from the Purdue community to honor
contributions, carried out with the highest
Graham’s accomplishments. His award
standards, broad knowledge, and insight.
address, “Measuring Molecules: Grocery
We are pleased that Louis Brus of Columbia
Stores, Doctors’ Offices, Crime Scenes,
University has agreed to serve as an Advisor,
Operating Rooms, and Factory Floors,”
joining David Hansen of Claremont McKenna,
which is now streaming on the Dreyfus
Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges, Francois Morel
Web site, included a live demonstration
of Princeton University, and JoAnne Stubbe
(pictured on the cover of this report) of the
of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
portable mass spectrometer that he has
developed. The applications of this innovation
As 2013 drew to a close, we received the
cover a wide range of areas with potentially
sad news that Harry Wasserman passed
major impacts, admirably reflecting the
away. Harry was associated with the
Dreyfus charter.
Foundation for more than 40 years, serving
as a Board member, Advisor, and always a
Graham Cooks will also be among the
friend. He was instrumental in the creation of
speakers who will present their research
the Teacher-Scholar awards, which became
at a Presidential Symposium on Chemical
the Foundation’s flagship program. All of us
Instrumentation at the national meeting of
at Dreyfus will miss Harry, though his legacy
the American Chemical Society in Dallas
and influence will continue to be felt here at
on March 18, 2014. The distinguished
the Foundation.
chemists scheduled to speak represent
major contributors to the field: David
Finally, in my letter for the 2012 Year in
Chandler, Michael Fayer, Wayne Hendrickson,
Review I wrote about Camille and Henry
Wilson Ho, Ann McDermott, W. E. Moerner,
Dreyfus, and their research. Last year the
and Lloyd Smith. The Dreyfus Foundation
Foundation produced a brief video that
is pleased to support this symposium and
elaborates on this theme and also describes
we hope you will be able to join us.
the origin and history of the Dreyfus
Foundation. It includes archival footage and
Both of the Dreyfus brothers received their
photographs, as well as commentary from
Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from the
several members of the Board. This video
University of Basel at the start of the last
is found on the Foundation Web site. I hope
century. The Foundation has commemorated
you will enjoy it, and wish you all the best for
this heritage by establishing a Lectureship at
a fruitful 2014.
Graham Cooks Awarded 2013 Dreyfus Prize
R
. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished
Professor of Chemistry at Purdue
University, is the recipient of the
2013 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical
Sciences, which was conferred
in chemical instrumentation.
The international prize, awarded
biennially, consists of $250,000, a citation, and a medal. The
award ceremony was held at Purdue University on September
24, 2013, and featured a lecture by Professor Cooks.
Graham Cooks is recognized internationally as an
innovative giant in the field of mass spectrometry who has
enriched analytical chemistry in unparalleled ways.Virtually
every pharmaceutical and biotechnology company relies on
mass spectrometry at a level that has become possible through
his innovations.
Mass spectrometry, the science of accurately determining
the masses of molecules in a sample, yields the elemental
composition of each constituent molecule. Cooks advanced
this analytical capability with the introduction of tandem
mass spectrometry in which selected ions generated from
complex mixtures are further fragmented and the masses of
the fragment ions determined. By putting together these puzzle pieces, a picture emerges of the molecular structure
of the parent ion. Cooks has also made groundbreaking
advances in ambient desorption/ionization in which ions
from a sample at room temperature in air are introduced
into the mass spectrometer for analysis. This removes
many of the difficulties associated with sample preparation
and volatilization in previous complex mass spectrometric
techniques and broadens the application space of the
technique.
In a remarkable accomplishment, Cooks and colleagues have
recently created miniature mass spectrometers, enabling the
remote deployment of these analytical instruments including
under battery power. Mass spectrometers, once roughly as
large as an automobile, can now be reduced to shoebox size,
allowing their widespread use in clinics, homeland security,
the military, and food safety. One noteworthy application of
this instrument is a collaboration at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in which a real-time,
rapid determination of the edges of cancerous tumors is made
during brain surgery.
Cooks noted, “We are trying to take powerful and
sophisticated instruments out of the lab and into the real
environment where, for example, they could monitor fresh
produce all along the supply chain, from production to
the consumers. This technology has the capability of testing
for bacteria in only a matter of minutes as opposed to
hours or even days for standard laboratory tests.”
Cooks described the Dreyfus Prize as a major career
highlight. “I am particularly pleased that the Dreyfus
Foundation chose chemical instrumentation as the topic
of the prize,” Cooks stated, “because it is an emphatic
recognition of the importance of instrumentation in the
chemical sciences.”
Richard N. Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in
Natural Science at Stanford University and a Board member
of the Dreyfus Foundation, remarked, “Mass spectrometry has
had an extraordinary impact on modern science, and Graham
Cooks has changed the field in many important ways. He has
developed critical new experimental instruments and methods
and applied them to solve significant problems.”
Jim Anderson and Greg Engel
R. Graham Cooks and Henry Walter, President of the Dreyfus Foundation
George Whitesides Inaugural Dreyfus Lecturer at University of Basel
T
he first annual Camille and Henry Dreyfus Lectureship at the University of
Basel in Switzerland was held on October 2-5, 2013. George Whitesides of
Harvard University, the inaugural lecturer, presented three seminars and held a
scientific writing workshop during his visit to the campus. The lectures were
widely attended by a diverse audience that included undergraduate and graduate students,
professors from many different departments in the sciences, high school teachers, and
journalists. The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Lectureship will annually support bringing
a leading U.S. chemist to Basel to deliver a series of
talks and meet with students and faculty.
George Whitesides at the University of Basel
Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry
T
he Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry
continues to attract a great variety and number of exciting
proposals. The topics of this year’s selections for awards include
research on: use of polymer-based photonic crystals for cooling;
innovative water purification chemistry; dynamics of dye-sensitized
charge injection and multiexciton generation in solar cells; the
interactions of microbes with clouds and climate; conductive
metal-oxide frameworks for photovoltaics; isoprene-based aerosol
chemistry; and Bi-based catalysis for CO2 reduction.
Of the 116 postdoctoral fellows who have completed the Dreyfus
program, approximately 90% have gone on to positions in the
environmental field.
Teacher-Scholar Conference to be Held in October 2014
T
he third conference for Camille and Henry Dreyfus
Teacher-Scholars will be held at the New York Academy of
Sciences on October 24, 2014. Approximately 40 of the most recent
Teacher-Scholars will present posters of their research, bracketed by
talks from four senior Teacher-Scholars. This year’s speakers will be:
Emily Carter, Founding Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and
the Environment, Princeton University; Leroy Hood, President and
co-founder, Institute for Systems Biology; Stephen Lippard, Arthur
Amos Noyes Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
David Oxtoby, President, Pomona College. Sanjay Sarma, the
Director of Digital Learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
will also make a presentation on the latest developments in digital
learning and the impact of MOOCs in higher education.
Poster session at 2012 Teacher-Scholar conference
Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureships
T
he Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship Program brings leading researchers to primarily undergraduate institutions to give
both popular and technical lectures in the chemical sciences, and to meet with faculty and students. The award also supports
the summer research of two undergraduate students. The following Lectureships were held in 2013:
College–Lecturer: Robert Grubbs, California
Institute of Technology: “Green Chemistry: Examples
from Catalysis” and “Design and Applications of Selective
Olefin Metathesis Catalysts”
nC
olgate University–Lecturer: Geert-Jan Boons, University of Georgia: “Cancer Vaccines and Carbohydrates” and
“A Fully Synthetic Multicomponent Vaccine for Cancer”
nE
astern Michigan University–Lecturer: John C. Warner,
Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry: “Green
Chemistry: The Missing Element” and “Entropic Control
in Materials Design”
n University of St. Thomas–Lecturer: Jay Keasling,
University of California, Berkeley: “Life 2.0: Engineering
Biology for Sustainable Development” and “Advanced
Fuels from Advanced Plants”
nB
ard
University–Lecturer: Daniel Nocera, Harvard
University: “The Global Energy Challenge,” “Chemistry
of Solar Fuels,” and “The Artificial Leaf ”
nV
illanova
Robert Grubbs with Bard College students
Dreyfus-Sponsored ACS Awards
S
ince 1998, the Dreyfus Foundation has sponsored two annual awards that are
administered by the American Chemical Society: for Encouraging Women into Careers
in the Chemical Sciences and for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the
Chemical Sciences. In 2013, these awards were made to Heather Allen, The Ohio State
University, and George H. Fisher, Barry University, respectively. Each award consists of $5,000
to the awardee and a grant of $10,000 to an eligible non-profit institution, designated by the
recipient, to strengthen its activities in meeting the objectives of the award.
Heather Allen and George H. Fisher
Senior Scientist Mentor Program
T
he Dreyfus Foundation’s
Senior Scientist Mentor
Program supports faculty
who maintain active research
programs in the chemical
sciences. The purpose of the
award is to encourage emeritus
faculty members to take on
undergraduates to do research
under their guidance. The
emeritus scientists receive
John D. Roberts
grants of $10,000 annually
for two years ($20,000 total) to be used primarily for undergraduate stipends. More than 130 awards have been made since
the program’s inception in 2000.
Beneficiaries of this program include the undergraduates, who
are able to learn under the direct guidance of a mentor who has
a lifetime of knowledge and experience; the Senior Scientist who,
as an emeritus faculty typically no longer works with graduate
students or teaches courses, stays active and integrated within the
university; and the institution, which is able to offer broader
options for undergraduates who want to conduct research.
Among the many esteemed chemists who have been supported
by this award are: John D. Roberts of California Institute of
Technology, James Dye of Michigan State University, Theodore
Cohen of University of Pittsburgh, Esther Conwell of University
of Rochester, Norman Craig of Oberlin College, and Joseph
Sherma of Lafayette College.
Award Programs and 2014 Deadlines
The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences,
The Postdoctoral Program in Environmental
awarded biennially, consists of a monetary award of
Chemistry is intended to further the development
$250,000, a medal, and a citation. The prize, which is
of scientific leadership in the field of environmental
open to international nominations, is awarded to an
chemistry. The award provides a principal investigator
individual in a selected area of chemistry to recognize
with $120,000 over two years to appoint a postdoctoral
exceptional and original research that has advanced the
fellow in environmental chemistry.
field in a major way. Announcement of topic: Fall 2014
Deadline: August 11, 2014
Deadline: early 2015
The Special Grant Program in the Chemical
The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards
Sciences provides funding for innovative projects
Program supports the research and teaching careers
in any area consistent with the Foundation’s broad
of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences at
objective to advance the chemical sciences. Examples
Ph.D.-granting institutions. Based on institutional
of areas of interest include (but are not limited to):
nominations, the program provides discretionary funding
increasing public awareness, understanding, and
to faculty prior to their sixth year of appointment.
appreciation of the chemical sciences; innovative
Criteria for selection include an independent body of
approaches to chemistry education at all levels (K-12,
scholarship attained as independent researchers, and a
undergraduate, and graduate); and efforts to make
demonstrated commitment to education. The award
chemistry careers more attractive. Research proposals
provides an unrestricted research grant of $75,000.
are not customarily considered.
Deadline: February 10, 2014
Deadline: June 5, 2014
The Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards
The Senior Scientist Mentor Program supports
Program supports the research and teaching careers
emeritus faculty who maintain active research programs
of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences at
with undergraduates in the chemical sciences. The
primarily undergraduate institutions. Based on institutional
award provides $20,000 over two years for undergraduate
nominations, the program provides discretionary funding
stipends and modest research support.
to faculty who are within the fourth and twelfth years
Deadline: September 8, 2014
of their independent academic careers. The award is
based on accomplishment in scholarly research with
The Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship
undergraduates, as well as a compelling commitment to
for Undergraduate Institutions provides an
teaching. The award provides an unrestricted research
$18,500 grant to bring a leading researcher to a primarily
grant of $60,000.
undergraduate institution to give a series of lectures in the
Deadline: May 19, 2014
chemical sciences. The lecturer is expected to substantially
interact with undergraduate students and faculty over the
period of the visit. The program provides funds to host
the speaker and to support summer research opportunities
for two undergraduate students.
Deadline: May 19, 2014
2013 Awards
Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences
R. Graham Cooks, Purdue University
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar
Awards Program
Theodore A. Betley, Harvard University
Michelle C. Chang, University of California, Berkeley
William R. Dichtel, Cornell University
Abigail G. Doyle, Princeton University
Neil K. Garg, University of California, Los Angeles
Thomas W. Hamann, Michigan State University
Mandë Holford, Hunter College of the City University of New York
Munira Khalil, University of Washington
Stephen Maldonado, University of Michigan
Thomas F. Miller, California Institute of Technology
Baron Peters, University of California, Santa Barbara
Charles M. Schroeder, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Corey R. J. Stephenson, Boston University
Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar
Awards Program
Chiles Wade Downey, University of Richmond
Danielle H. Dube, Bowdoin College
Paul J. Fischer, Macalester College
Amanda M. Grannas, Villanova University
Catherine M. Oertel, Oberlin College
Kathleen L. Purvis-Roberts, Claremont McKenna College
David A.Vosburg, Harvey Mudd College
Postdoctoral Program in
Environmental Chemistry
Mircea Dinca, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ellen R. Fisher, Colorado State University
Robert H. Grubbs, California Institute of Technology
Elad Harel, Northwestern University
Athanasios Nenes, Georgia Institute of Technology
Poul B. Petersen, Cornell University
Joel Rosenthal, University of Delaware
Jason D. Surratt, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Special Grant Program in the
Chemical Sciences
California Institute of Technology
The Indianapolis Museum of Art
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University
Moreno-Lyons Productions
Museum of Science, Boston
NYC Debate League
New York University
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
University of California, San Diego
University of Cincinnati
University of Georgia
The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
Williams College
Senior Scientist Mentor Program
James R. Bamburg, Colorado State University
John H. Enemark, University of Arizona
Kenneth Hedberg, Oregon State University
Joseph Lambert, Trinity University
Allan Nishimura, Westmont College
Claude H. Yoder, Franklin and Marshall College
Jacques L. Zakin, The Ohio State University
Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship
for Undergraduate Institutions
Allegheny College
Carleton College
Kenyon College
St. Olaf College
Trinity University
Board of Directors
Honorary Directors
Henry C. Walter, President
H. Marshall Schwarz
Dorothy Dinsmoor,
Vice President and Secretary
Harry H. Wasserman
H. Scott Walter,
Treasurer and Chair, Finance
and Audit Committee
Advisors
Marye Anne Fox, Chair,
Scientific Affairs Committee
John R. H. Blum
Edward A. Reilly
John I. Brauman
Richard N. Zare
Matthew V. Tirrell
Staff
Mark J. Cardillo,
Executive Director
Gerard Brandenstein,
Associate Director
Adam Lore,
Operations Manager
David E. Hansen
Francois M. M. Morel
JoAnne Stubbe
John C. Tully
Honorary Advisors
Robert A. Alberty
Dudley R. Herschbach
John D. Roberts
The mission of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is to advance the science of chemistry,
chemical engineering, and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and
circumstances throughout the world. Established in 1946 by chemist, inventor, and businessman
Camille Dreyfus as a memorial to his brother Henry, the Foundation became a memorial to both men
when Camille Dreyfus died in 1956. Throughout its history the Foundation has sought to take the lead
in identifying and addressing needs and opportunities in the chemical sciences.
555 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
T: (212) 753-1760
F: (212) 593-2256
www.dreyfus.org