Former Provost Thomas F. Rosenbaum and Katherine T. Faber have established a $100,000 graduate research fellowship at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) to advance the interests and representation of women in STEM fields.
The fellowship will provide summer research support to top-ranked students in the molecular engineering graduate program during the summer before their enrollment.
“An institution is only as strong as the people it can attract,” Rosenbaum said. “Kathy and I hope that this fellowship will help make Pritzker Molecular Engineering and the University of Chicago the destination for the most talented and diverse young scientists and engineers as it seeks to redefine engineering for our time.”
Rosenbaum is the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor in Physics at the University. He specializes in the quantum mechanical nature of materials, making major contributions to the understanding of matter near absolute zero, where quantum mechanical effects dominate. He served as provost for a seven-year term, and became president of the California Institute of Technology on July 1, 2014.
“Tom played a key role in launching the Institute for Molecular Engineering in 2011, which makes me and the faculty especially proud to receive his and Kathy’s gift,” said Matthew Tirrell, dean of PME. “Both Tom and Kathy are outstanding scientists. Their example will serve as an inspiration to all of the students who will hold the summer graduate research fellowship that carries their names.”
Faber is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. She joined Caltech’s engineering and applied sciences division as the Simon Ramo Professor of Materials Science when the couple moved to Pasadena. Her research focuses on understanding the fracture and toughening of brittle materials. She is co-founder and co-director of the Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts, which employs advanced materials techniques for conservation science.
Rosenbaum and Faber both have worked actively to support women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. They played critical roles in organizing the Chicago Collaboration for Women in STEM, a collaboration between UChicago and Northwestern to enhance the recruitment and advancement of women faculty members in those fields. In 2011, STEM workers accounted for 7.2 million jobs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Women held 26 percent of those jobs, even though they composed nearly half the workforce.