Funding Faculty Research: Meet and Greet with Foundation Funders
About the Event
Dimitra Koutsantoni, senior director of university corporate and foundation relations, will lead a conversation with leaders of foundations that support early career faculty in STEM fields about the goals of such programs and decision-making processes: Gerard Brandenstein, Managing Director, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program; Daniel Goroff, Vice President and Program Director, Sloan Foundation, Sloan Research Fellowship; and Anne Hultgren, Executive Director and CEO, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Beckman Young Investigator Program.
Faculty will also hear from a colleague who has been a past recipient of early-career awards, Laura Kaufman, Professor of chemistry and Chair of the department of chemistry, A&S, to learn strategies about developing successful proposals, and securing support from department/school leadership.
Register for the event here.
Speakers
Dimitra Koutsantoni
Dimitra Koutsantoni is senior director of university corporate and foundation relations at Columbia University. She works with Columbia University academic and administrative leaders and faculty to develop and deepen partnerships with foundations and corporations in support of university strategic initiatives, programs, and faculty research. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Research Administration at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She holds a PhD in Sociolinguistics and has published a research monograph, peer reviewed journal articles, and higher education policy papers.
Gerard Brandenstein
With almost 35 years of dedicated service, to the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Gerard Brandenstein was named Managing Director in January 2024. He is also a member of Touro University’s Institutional Review Board. He has continued his post-graduate education with studies at Harvard Business School and Cornell Law School.
Daniel Goroff
Daniel Goroff serves as Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a grantmaking philanthropy that supports breakthroughs in science, technology, and economics. He is a particularly passionate patron of rigorous and policy-relevant research in the social sciences, while also running the Sloan Research Fellowship Program that funds promising junior faculty in a variety of disciplines. Daniel Goroff is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Economics at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, where he also served as Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Anne Hultgren
Anne Hultgren joined the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation in 2015 as Executive Director and CEO. Previously, she was at the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, working in chemical and biological defense technologies. She received her PhD in Physics and Astronomy from the Johns Hopkins University, and BA in Physics and Mathematics from Franklin and Marshall College.
Laura Kaufman
Laura Jill Kaufman is Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Chemistry, A&S at Columbia University. Her research considers the dynamics of crowded systems, including biopolymer gels, supercooled liquids and conjugated polymers. Her research group supports a diverse and continually evolving program of research in frontier areas at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and biology. Thematically, their core interests are in the study of unusual dynamics of crowded and complex systems, with their research driven by high resolution imaging and its integration with complementary approaches.