Robert Alonzo Welch was born February 15, 1872, in Newberry, South Carolina.  In 1886, at the age of fourteen, he left South Carolina and, alone, came to Houston, Texas to establish his adult life and career.

He became interested in the oil and sulfur business during their early development and, through sound judgement, untiring energy and patience, he amassed a substantial fortune.  He never married, but was devoted to his immediate family.

In 1952, at eighty years of age, he died and left an estate of approximately $25,000,000 to be used to create a charitable Foundation to support research in chemistry.

Through Mr. Welch's benevolence, The Welch Foundation currently supports a broad educational program designed to benefit mankind through chemical research.

1. Research Grants - Currently 27 Texas universities and colleges have grants with approximately 1,500 persons involved in research under the program.
2. University Chairs - The Foundation has participated in sponsoring 43 chairs in chemistry and related sciences.
3. Departmental Grants - The program encourages students at 46 colleges and universities to study chemistry and to continue into graduate work, industry and other aspects of chemistry.
4. Scholarships - The Foundation, through the Texas Interscholastic League Foundation, annually supports Texas high school graduates studying chemistry.
5. Annual Conference on Chemical Research - Scientists from throughout the world attend a two-day Foundation-sponsored conference on research in chemistry.
6. Welch Award in Chemistry - Each year, the Foundation awards grants to scientists who have made important chemical research contributions which have a significant, positive influence on mankind.  The Welch Award consists of a certificate, a gold medallion and $300,000.  In 2008, the recipient was Dr. Alexander Rich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
7. Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research – This award honors young scientists in Texas whose research accomplishments advance chemical understanding.  The Hackerman Award consists of a certificate, glass sculpture of a rising star and $100,000.  In 2009, the recipient was Dr. Cecilia Clementi, Rice University.
8. Publications -
   Annual Report
   Newsletter
9. Other Program - The Foundation sponsors a summer research program for talented pre-college chemistry students.

The  Board  of  Directors  is  charged  with  the  stewardship  of  the  Foundation. Current directors and officers are:

Dennis Hendrix, Chairman and Director
Ernest H. Cockrell, Vice Chairman and Director
Wilhelmina E. (Beth) Robertson, Treasurer and Director
Peter J. Fluor, Secretary and Director
Charles W. Tate, Director
Norbert Dittrich, President

The  SAB reviews the merits of all research projects in the grant  program and  also  recommends to the directors candidates for the Welch Award in Chemistry.  Current members are:

James L. Kinsey, Chairman; D. R. Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor Emeritus of Science, Rice University

Peter B. Dervan, Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California

Joseph L. Goldstein, Professor and Chairman of Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Roger D. Kornberg, Winzer Professor in Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California

Yuan T. Lee, Distinguished Research Fellow, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan and University Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

William N. Lipscomb, Jr., Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Richard R. Schrock, Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Peter G. Schultz, Professor of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, and Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, San Diego, California

Ahmed H. Zewail, Linus Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California