Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grant

The Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grant (PCMNCG) supports small college science departments by providing grants for scientific equipment, teaching aids, and library materials. With a maximum funding of $10,000, this initiative promotes excellence in science education and encourages proposals that demonstrate effective integration of requested resources into curricula. Eligible institutions must have fewer than 5,000 students, ensuring that funds significantly impact undergraduate science education across diverse fields.

What is Pittcon?
Pittcon is the world’s leading annual conference and exposition on laboratory science. Pittcon attracts attendees from industry, academia and government from over 90 countries worldwide.
Pittcon’s target audience is not just “analytical chemists,” but all laboratory scientists — anyone who identifies, quantifies, analyzes or tests the chemical or biological properties of compounds or molecules, or who manages these laboratory scientists. Having grown beyond its roots in analytical chemistry and spectroscopy, Pittcon has evolved into an event that now also serves a diverse constituency encompassing life sciences, pharmaceutical discovery and QA, food safety, environmental, bioterrorism and other emerging markets.
PCMNCG: Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants Program
The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (a Pennsylvania non-profit Corporation), also known as Pittcon, and its co-sponsoring technical societies, The Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP) and The Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP) proudly sponsor the Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants (PCMNCG) Program.
Grants will be awarded to small college science departments for the purchase of scientific equipment, audio-visual or other teaching aids, and/or library materials for use in the teaching of science at the undergraduate level.
About PCMNCG
The Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants Program, originally established in memory of R.K. Scott, 1955 President of the Pittsburgh Conference, serves as a memorial to deceased members of the Pittsburgh Conference Committee by promoting excellence in science education. Through the program, small colleges (enrollments <5000) can enhance their science curricula through grants to purchase equipment and course materials.
General Information
The net proceeds generated by Pittcon, sponsored by The Society of Analytical Chemists (SACP) and The Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP), are used to promote science education at all levels. The Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants (PCMNCG) Program is one aspect of the efforts of the Pittcon volunteers and the sponsoring societies to support science education.
This year, the maximum funding available for each grant is $10,000.
Strong proposals had the following characteristics (in no particular order)
All information requested on application form are completely and accurately filled out
Good development and organization
PCMNCG funds leveraged by matching contributions from the university or another source
Specific examples of how the requested equipment would be integrated into the science programs
Requested equipment and materials impact a large number of students
Brief descriptions of specific experiments that demonstrate broad use of the equipment
Funds were not requested for computers, notepads and/or generic software

Eligibility

To be eligible for an award, schools must meet the following criteria:Enrollment must not exceed 5000 full-time students.No more than 25% of the operating budget may come from national or state governments. Two-year community colleges sponsored by political subdivisions of a state are not bound by these first two criteria.

Ineligibility

Requests for materials to be used only for research purposes will not be funded. Schools are ineligible for the PCMNCG program for a three-year period following receipt of the PCMNCG grant (award recipient colleges from 2023, 2024 and 2025 are not eligible for the 2026 program).