Robert A. Welch Foundation

The Welch Foundation, based in Houston, Texas, is one of the United States' oldest and largest private funding sources for chemistry researchers. It is a non-profit organization named for Robert Alonzo Welch, an industrialist who provided the funds to set up the foundation, along with scholarships, endowments, and funding for chemical research. Since its founding in 1954, the organization has contributed to the advancement of chemistry through research grants, departmental programs, endowed chairs, visiting lectureships, scholarships, and other special projects at educational institutions in Texas. The foundation hosts an annual chemical research conference in Houston that attracts leading chemists.