The John F. Perkins Jr. Memorial Fund was established in 1967 to promote the cultural and scientific contacts of the visiting scientist and his/her family during their stay in the United States. No applications were received during the calendar year 2000. Three applications were received in 2001. Two fellowship awards were made: 1) Jianquing Du, hosted in the laboratory of Mohan K. Raizada at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; and 2) Michael A. Nordstrom, hosted in the laboratory of Marc H. Schieber at Rochester University, NY. 

In the coming year the committee will launch several initiatives to increase the visibility of the John F. Perkins Jr. Memorial Fellowship in the US and abroad. By raising awareness of the Perkins Fellowship the committee wishes to revisit one of the founding principles of this fellowship, namely the building of cultural bridges, which seems appropriate and timely in this increasingly polarizing world.  

Klaus W. Beyenbach

Council Actions

• Council accepted the report of the Perkins Memorial Fund Committee.

• Council approved a motion to more rigorously advertise the fellowship.

• Council approved a motion to authorize up to $5000 per award.

• Council approved changing the wording in the applications to clarify the deadlines for application submission.