The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a New York City-based foundation founded in 1946 by chemist and investor
Camille Dreyfus in honour of his brother,
Henry Dreyfus.
The two men invented the acetate yarn
Celanese
Celanese Corporation, formerly known as Hoechst Celanese, is an American technology and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. A Fortune 500 corporation, the company is the world’s leading producer of acetic acid, produc ...
, and Henry Dreyfus was founder and chairman of
British Celanese
British Celanese was a chemical company based in England. Formed in 1916, it survived as an independent company until 1957 when it became a subsidiary of Courtaulds.
History
The origins of the company lie with two brothers, Henri and Camille D ...
, parent of the Celanese Corporation of America.
Following Camille's death in 1956, his wife, the opera singer
Jean Tennyson
Jean Tennyson (c. 1905? - died March 16, 1991), also known by her married names Jean Tennyson Dreyfus and Jean Tennyson Boissevain, was an American soprano, musical theatre actress, philanthropist, and radio personality. She began her career perfo ...
, served as the foundation's president until her death in 1991.
In 1971, the foundation sold a significant part of its holdings in the Celanese company.
The foundation makes grants and awards prizes in support of chemistry research and education.
[ ] These prizes include the
Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences,
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards are awards given to early-career researchers in chemistry by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. "to support the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. ...
, Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards, Machine Learning in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions. The foundation also sponsors two awards through the
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...
: the
ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, and the
ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.
Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences
The Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences is an award given to an individual researcher in
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
. The prize, awarded biennially, consists of a citation, a medal, and a monetary award of $250,000. The prize is awarded by
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. to an individual in a selected area of chemistry "to recognize exceptional and original research that has advanced the field in a major way."
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards
The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards are awards given to early-career researchers in
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
"to support the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences... who demonstrate leadership in research and education." The Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar program began in 1970.
In 1994, the program was divided into two parallel awards: The
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards are awards given to early-career researchers in chemistry by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. "to support the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. ...
Program, aimed at research universities, and the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program, directed at primarily undergraduate institutions.
The annually presented awards consist of a monetary prize of $75,000, which was increased to $100,000 starting in 2019. Seven winners of the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards have gone on to win the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
, including
Paul L. Modrich
Paul Lawrence Modrich (born June 13, 1946) is an American biochemist, James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry at Duke University and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is known for his research on DNA mismatch repair. Modric ...
,
Richard R. Schrock,
Robert H. Grubbs
Robert Howard Grubbs ForMemRS (February 27, 1942 – December 19, 2021) was an American chemist and the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. He was a co-recipient ...
,
K. Barry Sharpless,
Ahmed H. Zewail
Ahmed Hassan Zewail ( ar, أحمد حسن زويل, ; February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) was an Egyptian-American chemist, known as the "father of femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry ...
,
Mario J. Molina
Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (19 March 19437 October 2020), known as Mario Molina, was a Mexican chemist. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemis ...
and
Yuan Tseh Lee.
Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards
The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards are awards given to faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) "to support the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences at undergraduate institutions."
The annually presented awards consist of a monetary prize of $75,000.
Machine Learning in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering
The Machine Learning in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Awards are awards "for innovative projects in any area of Machine Learning (ML) consistent with the Foundation’s broad objective to advance the chemical sciences and engineering." They were first awarded in 2020.
Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions
The Jean Dreyfus Lectureship awards "bring a leading researcher to a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) to give at least two lectures in the chemical sciences."
The annually presented awards consist of a monetary prize of $18,500. Before 2016, this Lectureship was known as the Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions.
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camille And Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Educational foundations in the United States
Organizations established in 1946
Chemistry organizations
Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)