TERC Competitors

The University of Pittsburgh is a top-ranked, public institution in Pennsylvania and a member of the Association of American Universities of leading research universities. With our discoveries, we are recognized as one of the most innovative universities in the world. We invent the paths of the future and forge ahead. Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), which comprises 62 preeminent doctorate-granting research institutions in North America.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of more than $8 billion, NSF is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. In many fields, such as mathematics, computer science, and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing. NSF awards about 11,000 new awards per year, with an average duration of three years -- to fund specific research proposals that have been judged the most promising by a rigorous and objective merit-review system. In the past few decades, NSF-funded researchers have won more than 200 Nobel Prizes as well as other honors too numerous to list. NSF funds equipment that is needed by scientists and engineers but is often too expensive for any one group or researcher to afford. Another essential element in NSF's mission is support for science and engineering education, from pre-K through graduate school and beyond. There are many exciting careers at NSF, not only in science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM), but also in business and operations. For more information, please visit us at http://nsf.gov/careers/. NSF welcomes opportunities to engage with you on our LinkedIn page. Please see our Comment Policy [http://www.nsf.gov/social/policies.jsp ] for more information.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) was founded in 1876 and is a congressionally chartered independent membership organization that represents professionals at all degree levels and in all fields of the chemical sciences. With more than 200,000 people in its global community, ACS is one of the world’s largest scientific societies and leading sources of authoritative scientific information. A nonprofit organization, ACS is at the forefront of the evolving chemistry enterprise and is the premier professional home for chemists, chemical engineers and related professionals around the globe. ACS is dynamic and visionary, committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its vision, a world built on science, was developed and adopted by the ACS Board of Directors, and fully complements its mission: advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity. ACS publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. It also gives more than $22 million every year in grants for research in petroleum and related fields. ACS plays a leadership role in educating and communicating with policymakers and the general public about the importance of chemistry in everyone’s lives.