Welch Foundation Names Fox to Chair Scientific Advisory Board

HOUSTON, Jan. 3, 2012 - The Welch Foundation, one of the nation's oldest and largest sources of private funding for basic research in chemistry, has appointed Marye Anne Fox, chancellor at the University of California, San Diego, as chair of its Scientific Advisory Board.  She succeeds the retiring chair, James L. Kinsey.

"We are pleased to have Marye Anne's capable hands taking the helm of our advisory board," said Beth Robertson, chair of the Foundation's board of directors.  "An advisory board member for 13 years and a recipient of a Welch research grant for two decades before that at The University of Texas at Austin, she knows our mission very well.  She is both a remarkable scientist and experienced administrator who will help guide our focus on advancing basic research in chemistry to improve life."

"The Welch Foundation has made a real difference to the quality of chemical research in Texas and in the world over the past half century," Dr. Fox said.  "I am honored to be chosen to lead its advisory board composed of truly remarkable scientists with a passion for nurturing new knowledge and new researchers."

Dr. Fox previously was chancellor and Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry at North Carolina State University.  She started her academic career at The University of Texas where she was Waggoner Regents Chair in Chemistry and vice president for research.  She received her bachelor's degree from Notre Dame and her doctorate from Dartmouth College.

Her research interests are in organic photochemistry and electrochemistry.  Dr. Fox's contributions to materials science, solar energy conversion and environmental chemistry have been recognized with many awards, including the National Medal of Science, election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  From the American Chemical Society, she has received the Garvan and Southwest Regional Awards, and was named a Cope Scholar, a Sloan Fellow and a Dreyfus Teacher Scholar.  She has served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and as co-chair of the National Research Council's Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable.

The Welch Foundation advances science through research and departmental grants, funding of endowed chairs, an annual chemical conference and support for other chemistry-related programs.  The Foundation annually bestows both the Welch Award in Chemistry, honoring achievement in basic research internationally, and the Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research to recognize the accomplishments of chemical scientists in Texas who are in their early careers.  Since its founding in 1954, Welch has contributed more than $684 million as part of its mission to support the basic chemical research that improves life.