The $105,600 award from the Beckman Foundation of Irvine, Calif., will allow USC’s Honors College to select six students who will work closely with mentors in the School of Medicine and College of Science and Mathematics, conducting research in biological sciences, biomedicine, chemistry, and biochemistry.

Each Beckman Scholar will perform research activities for up to 10 hours each week during the academic year and full time (10 weeks) during two consecutive summers.

“Some grants are intended to help you develop something that you want to do better; Beckman acknowledges programs that already are doing things the right way. That’s why this is such an accolade for USC,” said Leslie Sargent Jones, associate dean for research at the Honors College and principal investigator for USC’s participation in the program.

Each of USC’s six Beckman Scholars will receive a $17,600 stipend. In addition, $750 per summer and $1,500 during the academic year will be available for each scholar for professional travel and research supplies.

The first two Beckman Scholars will be named later this spring and will begin their research activities this summer. Two more scholars will be named in spring 2004 and the final two in 2005. Following their second summer of research, Beckman Scholars and their mentors will present their research at a Beckman Foundation-sponsored conference in Irvine.

Other institutions selected to participate in the Beckman Scholars Program include New York University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, San Diego, University of Maryland, College of William and Mary, and the University of Arizona.

03/03