Senior Program Director December 2014
INTRODUCTION The W. M. Keck Foundation ( the Foundation ) invites applications and nominations for the position of Senior Program Director for Biomedical Engineering. The Foundation seeks a! proven scientific and administrative leader with a strong record of research and an appetite for new frontiers in science to identify strategic opportunities for grantmaking at the program grant level for the Foundation. S/he will be a leader and vital contributor both within the W. M. Keck Foundation and across the scientific philanthropic community. This position will be filled at the same time Keck is recruiting a Senior Program Director for Physical Sciences and Engineering to bolster the breadth and quality of science and engineering expertise within the Foundation. The Senior Program Director will report to the Executive Director of Programs and work with leaders throughout the Foundation including members of the Board program committees. W. M. KECK FOUNDATION The W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 in Los Angeles by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. Mr. Keck envisioned a philanthropic institution that would provide far-reaching benefits for humanity. By taking a bold, creative approach to grantmaking, he created a legacy that the Foundation proudly upholds today. For 60 years, the Foundation has supported the highest levels of academic inquiry and discovery conducted by the finest researchers at the most innovative institutions in the United States. The Foundation has an endowment of $1.25 billion and makes approximately $60 million in grants annually. FUNDING AREAS The Foundation has made grants totaling over $1.5 billion in three broad areas: Science, Engineering, and Medical Research; Undergraduate Programs; and Southern California. As indicated through the examples described below, recent grants support science exploration at some of America s leading research universities. Science and Engineering Research $1,000,000 to Stanford University to develop technologies for atom interferometry that could lead to a new type of gravitational wave detector. $1,000,000 to the University of California, Irvine to develop instrumentation for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of solution interface chemistry and composition. $1,000,000 to Northwestern University to study the fundamental science of chemical functionalization of graphene. Medical Research $1,000,000 to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to develop a new methodology for visualizing the structure and function of DNA using correlated light and electron microscopy. 2
$1,000,000 to City of Hope to develop new antibody-based tools for research using meditopes, small peptides that bind with high affinity to antibodies without altering their function. $1,000,000 to Carnegie Mellon University to develop a platform that utilizes collective analysis (crowdsourcing) to uncover rules governing RNA folding. Undergraduate Education The Foundation supports undergraduate education through grants to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. $500,000 to the California State University System to study the impact of service learning on achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. $250,000 to Trinity University (Texas) to acquire a suite of microscopes for imaging and analyzing materials at the nanoscale. $250,000 to the University of Puget Sound to equip a new laboratory for an interdisciplinary program in the neurosciences. Southern California In Southern California, Keck supports organizations that enrich the lives of the region s residents particularly children, youth, and their families. $100,000 to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust to support construction of the museum s first permanent home, a facility in Pan Pacific Park. $250,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles to increase home ownership among low-income families and revitalize neighborhoods in Long Beach. $3,000,000 to the California Science Center to establish the Looking Out exhibit on telescopes including the Keck Observatory, as part of the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Special Projects From time to time, the Foundation invites major grants designated as special projects for potentially significant endeavors that they believe will ultimately benefit humankind. These special projects are exclusively initiated by the board of directors. In 2008, the Foundation granted $24M to Caltech to establish The Keck Institute for Space Studies, a think and do tank whose primary purpose is to bring together a broad spectrum of scientists and engineers for sustained technical interaction aimed at developing new space mission concepts and technology. In 2011, The Foundation granted $150M to the University of Southern California School of Medicine (now the Keck School of Medicine) to accelerate groundbreaking medical, clinical, and translational research and education. 3
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SENIOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR This is an exciting and major opportunity for the Senior Program Director. The incumbent will work with leading researchers across the country who are exploring early stage science and support funding for these initiatives. This dynamic allows the Foundation staff to foster exploration and change that is tangible and leads to discoveries and downstream federal grant funding. Philanthropic Strategy For Grant Programs The Senior Program Director identifies strategic opportunities in new fields of research to help craft Keck s approach to identifying and funding leading edge science. The strategy, the evaluation process, and the funding criteria are interactive and the incumbent is responsible for assuring that all elements in the process are linked, coherent, consistent, and consistently applied. Grant Assessment He/she is responsible for evaluating applications, meeting with grant seekers, and making recommendations regarding grant programs and individual projects in each of the Foundation s grant programs. In this work, the Senior Program Director collaborates with the Executive Director of Programs to evaluate grant program areas and specific projects; assists in communicating with grantee institutions; attends national meetings of funders, scientific organizations, and governmental agencies; analyzes and prepares summaries of applications and proposals; reviews and analyzes reports from grant recipients; and synthesizes project outcomes to assess the overall impact of the Foundation s grant making. The Senior Program Director s work is carried out through site visits to grant seekers to help shape submissions and by delivering recommendations to the Keck Board of Directors. QUALIFICATIONS The Senior Program Director will be an outstanding scientist with a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering (or similar field) who has a significant record of basic research and scholarship in basic research, demonstrated ability to both secure research funding and review grants, and the leadership skills to work with the Executive Director of Programs and the Executive Director to advance the mission of the Foundation. The best candidates will also have many of the following experiences, capabilities, and personal attributes: Successful track record obtaining public and private funding for major research initiatives in academic or government institutions; 4
Experience in formulating and guiding research programs including interdisciplinary projects; Experience reviewing and assessing grant applications; Strong communication and advocacy skills, effective with both internal and external constituencies; Excellent interpersonal and management skills; Nuanced judgment and personal maturity; Strong ethics and high integrity; and Warm, open, and inclusive approach to working with colleagues. TO APPLY Please submit applications and nominations to: Nicholas Brill and Jennifer McDonough Brill Neumann Associates KeckBioengineering@brillneumann.com Please visit the W.M. Keck Foundation website www.wmkeck.org for additional information about the Foundation. 5