Smalley InstituteSmalley Institute

 J. Evans Attwell-Welch Post-Doctoral Fellowship

We are announcing the competition for a J. Evans Attwell-Welch Postdoctoral Fellowship.  This is a two-year fellowship to work with faculty in the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, encompassing the School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, the Jones School of Management through the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.  Candidates for this competitively-awarded fellowship must submit a research proposal (three pages maximum), and a letter of support for the candidate and endorsement of the proposed research from a Rice University faculty member in the Smalley Institute.  Applicants must submit a resume and three letters of recommendation and must have received a Ph. D. within the past three years.

Fellowship Application - Due May 2008

This fellowship program was established in June of 1998 by the Welch Foundation in honor of J. Evans Attwell, whose leadership with both Rice University and the Robert A. Welch Foundation is most highly regarded.  Over the last two decades, J. Evans Attwell helped Rice University choose a president, grapple with the impact of athletics on campus, and steer a course for the 21st century.  Attwell earned a bachelor of arts from Rice in 1953 and served on the Board of Governors for the University from 1982 to 1996.  J. Evans Attwell is a member of the William Marsh Rice Society and was a major individual donor during Rice’s record-breaking 1989-90 private-giving campaign.  Attendance at Rice is something of a family tradition for Attwell, who’s had four cousins, two uncles, and an aunt graduate from the University.  Attwell served as a vice chair of the University’s Baker Institute for Public Leadership Committee served on the Rice University Fund Council and is a contributing life member of Rice Associates.

After earning his bachelor’s degree at Rice, J. Evans Attwell received his law degree from the University of Texas.  He served as managing partner of Vinson and Elkins from 1981 to 1991.  The law firm has a 10-year term limit for its managing partner under a rule that was written by Attwell himself.  He is a Fellow of the Texas and American Bar Foundations and a member of the American Law Institute. 

The J. Evans Attwell fellowship is supported by an endowment, established from both Rice University and Welch Foundation funds, which is sufficient to make the award attractive to the best young Ph.D. recipients in nanoscience and nanoengineering-related fields.  The goal is to attract and retain leading nanoscientists, thus further augmenting the level of basic scientific research in chemistry and allied fields, not only for RiceUniversity, but also for the State of Texas.

Rice University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.  Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.