Two research proposals from faculty members in the Department of Chemistry have been selected for Discovery Fund awards.
This sixth round of Discovery Fund support will be used as seed grants by Prof. Christina White who will pursue an AI-driven discovery of a late-stage methyl C—H oxidation reaction and Prof. Prashant Jain who will develop a new technology that combines yeast biosynthesis and solar-driven CO2 reduction for sustainable manufacturing of valuable compounds and pharmaceutical intermediates directly from carbon dioxide (CO2).
The Discovery Fund was established in 2018 to provide funding for innovative research in the Department of Chemistry and is generously supported by a gift from chemistry alumni Ving Lee (PhD, ‘75, Rinehart) and May Lee (PhD, ‘76, Rinehart). This marks the sixth consecutive year that the fund has supported chemistry research projects in the initial discovery phase. To offset the shrinking availability of federal and state funding for starter projects, the Chemistry Discovery Fund enables Illinois chemistry faculty to explore fresh ideas by applying for overhead-free grants for new projects.
Ving and May Lee wanted to establish the Discovery Fund to help counter the downward trend in funding for discovery-based research. May Lee said the Discovery Fund is about encouraging and fostering pioneering research that ultimately contributes toward building and maintaining the Department to be recognized as the very best in the country
Ving Lee said he is a firm believer that academic discoveries need paths to monetization, some earlier versus later.
"As Illinois has a rich history in converting academic discoveries to practical applications, it is a pleasure to provide financial support for such opportunities,” Ving Lee said.