Chemistry Foundation Funds

Chemistry Gifts (Fund #2195)

Contributions from former students and friends of the Department enhance our teaching and research programs, including classroom innovation, undergraduate research and faculty development. By partnering state funds, gifts from alumni, private donations and grant monies, we are able to provide educational excellence to our students. Your financial support of our programs represents the kind of partnership for excellence we highly value and strive to maintain into the next century.

UMD James H. Maguire Award (Fund #3243)

Dr. James H. Maguire is a UMD alumnus, who received a B.S. in Chemistry in 1970, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina. He taught at the University of North Carolina until his death in 1989.

The Maguire Award allows us to recognize our brightest and most promising chemistry and biochemistry students and help them realize their potential as scientists and professionals. Chemistry or biochemistry and molecular biology majors apply for the award during the spring of their sophomore or junior years for up to two years of scholarship support.

F.B. Moore Chemistry Fund (Fund #4703)

Dr. F.B. (Red) Moore played the defining role in the development of this department between 1952, when he accepted the departmental headship, and his retirement in 1974. His commitment to students and visionary work to establish research and graduate education as part of our mission was crucial in attracting a quality faculty to UMD. In addition, his leadership on the UMD campus and his integrity were critical during the formative years of this campus and provide an everlasting example of the proper role of the faculty in the academic life of an institution of higher learning.

Red died on December 20, 1997 at the age of 92. His will stipulated that his estate be given to the UMD Chemistry Department to establish the F.B. Moore Chemistry Fund. Funds from this account are used to aid the graduate students in the Chemistry Department.

UMD Chemistry Graduate Student Fund (Fund #5226)

This fund was established in 2000 to provide financial support to graduate students during the summer, when they are focusing on their research programs. The Chemistry M.S. program is a major factor in the department’s scholarly health, besides contributing to our instructional program in many ways.

This fund is matched by the University’s 21st Century Graduate Fellowship Endowment, so your donation is doubly appreciated.

John C. Cothran Memorial Award (Fund #5742)

Dr. John C. Cothran (1885-1974) earned his A.B. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from Cornell University. He was an industrial chemist and a professor of Chemistry at Bethany College in West Virginia before coming to UMD (then Duluth State Teachers College) in 1933. At UMD he taught chemistry (General, Analytical, Organic and Physical chemistry) as well as physics and mathematics. Dr. Cothran was chairman of the Division of Science and Mathematics from 1933 until he retired from UMD in 1954.

The John C. Cothran Memorial Fund was established in 2001 by an anonymous donor with the intention of rewarding our top graduate students by providing financial support during the summer months. Awardees are selected on the basis of their grade point average, percentile score ranking on the proficiency examination in their field of chemistry, student evaluations of performance as a graduate teaching assistant and progress in research.

This fund is matched by the University’s 21st Century Graduate Fellowship Endowment, so your donation is doubly appreciated.

UMD Moses Passer Graduate Fellowship (Fund #6741)

The Moses Passer Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry was established in 2004 in honor of the late Dr. Moses Passer by his widow, Dorothy Passer. Dr. Passer was a UMD professor of chemistry from 1948 to 1964 and served as director of education for the American Chemical Society from 1964 to 1987. This fellowship recognizes excellence in graduate student research and enhances the research mission of the chemistry department by providing financial support to our top graduate students during the summer months.

Larry C. Thompson Inorganic Chemistry Award (Fund #6782)

Professor Larry Thompson recently retired from the UMD Chemistry Department leaving a forty-three year legacy of excellence and commitment. Since his first year at UMD in 1960, Dr. Thompson’s leadership and wisdom have shaped the department and contributed to its mission of teaching excellence, distinguished scholarship and dedication to student success. To honor Professor Thompson and his contributions to the UMD Chemistry Department, we have established the Larry C. Thompson Inorganic Chemistry Award. This award will recognize the highest achievement in inorganic chemistry by a senior chemistry or biochemistry major.

UMD Swenson Science Building Fund for Excellence in Chemistry (Fund #7219)

As we watch the completion of the Swenson Science Building, we are excited about how this physical structure will allow us to do more science, better science, more collaborative work and engage more students in the laboratory. At the same time, we recognize the responsibilities that come with this wonderful structure; we will work hard to realize its promise and to respond to the trust our many donors have placed in us to do this. Your gift will help make possible our future success.

UMD Casmir Ilenda Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research (Fund #7461)

Dr. Casmir S. Ilenda received his BA (Summa cum Laude) in Chemistry in 1969. He was the co-author of two publications while at UMD and was the recipient of an NSF graduate fellowship in his senior year that enabled him to obtain his PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Colorado in 1974. He then earned an NIH postdoctoral fellowship to pursue research at the California Institute of Technology. His productive industrial career started in 1975 with the Rohm and Haas Company of Philadelphia, PA and he has been there ever since.

Dr. Ilenda was honored by Rohm and Haas in 1991with the "Otto Haas Award of Scientific Achievement." He presented this unrestricted gift to the chemistry department at UMD in recognition of the fact that it was undergraduate research that launched his successful career in chemistry.

Gifts to the Casmir Ilenda Award contribute to our success in expanding undergraduate research in the department. The Casmir Ilenda Award brings visibility to this important enterprise and recognizes student excellence. It has increased student interest in chemistry and biochemistry research and resulted in work of the highest quality.