The Welch Foundation is one of the nation’s largest private funding sources for fundamental chemical research at universities, colleges, and other educational institutions in Texas.


Jodie Lutkenhaus, professor of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, pursues diverse research interests spanning redox-active polymers, energy storage, polyelectrolytes, nanocomposites, and thin films and coatings, with a focus on developing redox-active polymers for energy storage and smart coatings. Her Welch Foundation funding supports her work with polymer batteries.

The Welch Foundation has awarded the 2026 Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research to Dr. Sheel C. Dodani, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Dallas, for her pioneering contributions to the development of engineered proteins as anion sensors in biology. Congratulations to Dr. Dodani!

Kayla Goforth, a Welch Postdoctoral Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation in the Merlin Lab at Texas A&M University, is helping unravel the mystery of butterfly navigation by probing one of biology’s most elusive senses: magnetoreception, the ability to detect Earth’s magnetic field.
Research Grants, Departmental Grants, Catalyst for Discovery Grants, Postdoctoral Fellow Grants, WelchX Pilot Grants, and Endowed Chairs
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