Skip to main content

Grants in the News

A selection of stories about grant winners who have worked with our office

Northwestern is awarded more than one hundred private foundation grants each year. Below is a selection of these grants, showing the source and the specified purpose. Foundation Relations staff add value to many of the funded foundation proposals through sharing specific strategic advice and reviewing proposal documents.

Two Northwestern professors named Sloan Research Fellows

February 20, 2024 - from Northwestern Now

The new Northwestern fellows are theoretical scientist Daniel Lecoanet of the McCormick School of Engineering and mathematician Ananth Shankar of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

*$75K/2 years for each Sloan Research Fellowship

Two Northwestern professors named Sloan Research Fellows

February 15, 2023 - from Northwestern Now

The new Northwestern fellows are chemist Todd Gingrich of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and neuroscientist Ann Kennedy of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

*$75K/2 years for each Sloan Research Fellowship

Illuminating the Black experience through dance and technology

February 3, 2023 - from Northwestern Now

Thomas F. DeFrantz, a professor in the School of Communication and a fellow in the Segal Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering, was awarded a Mellon Foundation grant through its inaugural Higher Learning Open Call for civic engagement and social justice-related research for his SLIPPAGE lab, which explores connections among performance, history, theatre and emergent technology.

*$500K/3 years

McCormick Foundation awards $2.4M to launch the Medill Local News Accelerator

September 27, 2022 - from Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications

Medill will be able to expand its support for local media with the new grant from McCormick and provide a range of business analytics, market research, and expert advice to help outlets sustainably scale and serve the Chicago region's residents.

*$2.4 million/3 years

Six Northwestern professors named Sloan Research Fellows

February 15, 2022 - from Northwestern Now

The new Northwestern fellows are economist Piotr Dworczak, astrophysicist Wen-fai Fong and mathematician Yuchen Liu of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences; computer engineer Josiah Hester and chemical and biological engineer Muzhou Wang of the McCormick School of Engineering; and neuroscientist Lucas Pinto of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

*$75K/2 years for each Sloan Research Fellowship

'A Site of Struggle: American Art against Anti-Black Violence' debuts at The Block Museum of Art Jan. 26

December 6, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

A Site of Struggle: American Art against Anti-Black Violence," which takes a new, historical approach to looking at the intersection of race, violence, and art, will premiere on January 26, 2022 at The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. The exhibition received generous foundation support, including from the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Observational astronomer receives prestigious Packard Fellowship

October 14, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Wen-fai Fong was awarded a prestigious Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

*$875K/5 years

Northwestern scholar of Black education to study Evanston reparations

October 1, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

kihana miraya ross was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Spencer Foundation to support her work.

*$250K/2 years

Puerto Rican artists helping artists

June 16, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Puerto Rican Arts Initiative moves into second phase with a $750,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

*750K/2 years

Julia Kalow named Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

May 14, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Julia Kalow, an assistant professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 16 honorees across the nation selected for the 2021 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

*$100K/5 years

Peterson Foundation grant to fuel COVID-19 research at Northwestern

April 1, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Northwestern University has announced the Peter G. Peterson Foundation Pandemic Response Policy Research Program, a new $1 million research initiative to advance the understanding of effective pandemic policy responses.

*$1M/2 years

Three Northwestern professors named Sloan Research Fellows

February 22, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Three Northwestern faculty members — mathematician Xiumin Du, chemist Julia Kalow and mathematician Ilya Khayutin — have each been awarded a prestigious 2021 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

*$75K/2 years for each Sloan Research Fellowship

Bryna Kra and Jared Wunsch awarded Simons Fellowship in Mathematics

February 22, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Bryna Kra, the Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Mathematics, and Jared Wunsch, professor of mathematics, were awarded the Simons Fellowship in Mathematics from the Simons Foundation.

Opening new doors to undergraduate research

February 11, 2021 - from Northwestern Now

Northwestern University is expanding undergraduate research opportunities for first-year students who identify as first-generation, lower-income or marginalized, thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

*$300K/3 yrs

Physicist receives prestigious Packard Fellowship

October 15, 2020 - from Northwestern Now

Timothy Kovachy, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Scientists, was awarded a 2020 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The prestigious fellowship includes an unrestricted grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue innovative and experimental research. Story from Northwestern Now.

*$875K/5 years

Medill faculty member awarded Ford Foundation Creativity and Free Expression Grant

July 24, 2020 - from Northwestern Now

A $75,000 from the Ford Foundation will support the work of Steven W. Thrasher, assistant professor and Daniel H. Renberg Chair of social justice reporting at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Story from Northwestern Now.

*$75K/18 months

Medill awarded $1 million by McCormick Foundation to help improve local news in Chicago

June 17, 2020 - from Northwestern Now

Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications has been awarded $1 million by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation for an ambitious new program to help bolster local news in Chicago. Story fromNorthwestern Now.

*$1M/4 years

Northwestern Prison Education Program receives $1 million Mellon grant

February 18, 2020 - from Northwestern Now

The Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP) has received a $1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the expansion of educational opportunities for incarcerated people, including the first college-in-prison program for women in Illinois. Story from Northwestern Now.

*$1M/3 years

Two Northwestern scientists named Sloan Research Fellows

February 12, 2020 - from Northwestern Now

Two Northwestern University faculty members — physicist John Joseph Carrasco and neuroscientist Andrew Miri — each have been awarded the prestigious and competitive 2020 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Story from Northwestern Now.

*$75K/2 years for each Sloan Research Fellowship

Northwestern to convene international scholars on archiving black arts

October 28, 2019 - from Northwestern Now
Northwestern University has been awarded a $225,000 Sawyer Seminar grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a series of seminars entitled “The Black Arts Archive: The Challenge of Translation.” Story from Northwestern Now.

*$225K/1 year for a Sawyer Seminar

Northwestern leads effort to detect new types of cosmic events

July 16, 2019 - from Northwestern Now
The W. M. Keck Foundation awarded $1 million to a team of Northwestern University physicists and astronomers to develop a prototype for a new kind of detector that is small enough to fit on a tabletop and powerful enough to detect cosmic events that existing astronomical equipment cannot.

*$1M/3 years

Three Northwestern professors named Sloan Research Fellows

February 19, 2019 - from Northwestern Now

Three Northwestern University faculty members -- mathematician Bao Le Hung, astrophysicist Raffaella Margutti and biomedical engineer Jonathan Rivnay -- each have been awarded a prestigious 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Story from Northwestern Now.

*$70K/2 years for each Sloan Research Fellowship

Prindle receives 2018 Packard fellowship

October 15, 2018 - from Feinberg School of Medicine
Arthur Prindle, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has been named a 2018 Packard Fellow, one of 18 scientists across the globe recognized for their pursuit of scientific discovery.

*$875K/5 years for a Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering

Northwestern scientist wins Hartwell award to study pediatric cancer

May 21, 2018 - from Northwestern Now

A Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine scientist, Panagiotis “Panos” Ntziachristos, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, is a winner of the 2017 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards.

*$300K/3 years for a Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award

Mellon Foundation award will help create stability in Puerto Rican arts

July 31, 2018 - from Northwestern Now

Ten emerging and ten established artists from Puerto Rico will kick off a two-year arts development project spearheaded by Northwestern University that aims to stabilize the financial security of community-based artists and jumpstart arts activity on the island.

*$500K/2 years towards the Puerto Rican Arts Development initiative

Marco Gallio wins Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award from McKnight Foundation

July 17, 2018 - from McKnight Foundation

Marco Gallio, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, was awarded a Technological Innovation in Neuroscience Award for his research on re-wiring connections in the living brain.

*$200K/2 years for a Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award.

Northwestern receives $10M to establish quantitative biology research center

May 24, 2018 - from Northwestern Now

Northwestern University has received a $10 million grant to fund research in quantitative biology, an interdisciplinary field that uses mathematical models to describe and analyze the development of living organisms. The center is jointly funded by Simons Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

*$10M/5 years for the NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology.

Northwestern scientist wins Hartwell award to study pediatric leukemia

May 21, 2018 - from Northwestern Now

A Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine scientist, Panagiotis “Panos” Ntziachristos, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, is a winner of the 2017 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards.

*400K/3 years for an Individual Biomedical Research Award for Panos Ntziachristos, and a postdoctoral fellowship for an individual for specialized training in biomedical research.

Danna Freedman named Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

May 8, 2018 - from Northwestern Now

Danna Freedman, a chemist in Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, is among 13 honorees nationwide selected to receive a 2018 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

*$75,000/1 year for the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

Simone Ispa-Landa named William T. Grant Scholar

April 24, 2018 - from School of Education and Social Policy News

Northwestern University's Simone Ispa-Landa, an education sociologist, has been named a 2018 William T. Grant Scholar for her work examining racial inequities in school discipline practices.

*$350K/5 year for a W.T. Grant Foundation Scholar Award.

Julius Lucks named Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

May 8, 2017 - from McCormick School of Engineering News

Synthetic biologist's work in RNA biology and engineering could lead to new diagnostics, therapeutics.

*$75K/5 year from the Dreyfus Foundation for a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.

Heather Pinkett receives a Hartwell research award

May 04, 2017 - from Northwestern Now

Scientist will use funding to target antibiotic-resistant bacteria in middle ear infections.

*$400K from The Hartwell Foundation for an individual Biomedical Research Award to Heather Pinkett, Molecular Biosciences, Weinberg College, and for a postdoctoral fellowship to Brian Joyce, Preventive Medicine (Lifang Hou laboratory, Feinberg School of Medicine).

Beckman program offers exceptional research opportunity

February 2, 2017 - from Northwestern Now

Undergraduate students to receive $26,000 grants to promote scientific discovery.

*$156K/3 years from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation to support the Beckman Scholars Program at Northwestern University.

University to launch Native American and Indigenous Studies Center

December 17, 2016 - from Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences News

The new center, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, will develop new scholarship, projects and programming.

*$1.5M/5y, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Native American and Indigenous Studies Research Center support.

Madhav Mani named Simons Investigator

June 21, 2016 - from McCormick School of Engineering News

The award provides long-term funding for his work in mathematical modeling of living systems.

*$660K/5y from the Simons Foundation for an Investigator in Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems.

Marco Gallio honored for innovative brain research

June 9, 2016 - from Northwestern Now

Neuroscientist is one of 22 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences nationwide.

*$240K/4y from Pew Charitable Trusts for a Pew Scholar Award.

Four professors named Sloan fellows

February 23, 2016 - from Northwestern Now

Faculty highlighted as rising stars in their fields of research.

*$220K from the Sloan Foundation towards four Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships.