Who We Are
Our History
Our History
Our History
ABBF was established in 2004 in memory of chemist and professor Anton B. Burg, a founder and chairman of the University of Southern California's chemistry department and one of the most distinguished chemists of the 20th century. He dedicated his life to chemistry and his legacy lives on through initial funding from his estate.
Our Board
Our History
Our History
Our board comprises dedicated professionals, professors, and family who are passionate about upholding Anton Burg's legacy. Since 2004, ABBF has invested over $3 million in endowments towards groundbreaking research, equipment and STEM education for undergraduates and graduates.
Our Purpose
Our History
Our Purpose
ABBF encourages education and scholarship in science by making grants to support research through the provision of equipment, student fellowships at the post-secondary through post-doctoral level, and aiding in creation and improvement of facilities for education.
About anton b. burg
Anton Behem Burg
Anton B. Burg (October 18, 1904 - November 18, 2003) was the founder of the Unviersity of Southern California chemistry department and an expert on boron.
Burg joined USC in 1939 as an assistant professor. He built up USC's chemistry department, making it one of the best in the United States by the 1950s. Burg remained active in research well into his 90s.
During his time with Morris S. Kharasch at the University of Chicago, he worked wth Herbert C. Brown, who won a Nobel Prize for his work following up on Burg's research.
ABBF milestones
The Anton B. Burg Foundation has gifted over three million dollars in support of science education and research since 2004 - largely in the field of chemistry, Professor Burg's area of teaching and research.
Grants have included support for undergraduate teaching laboratory modernization and for summer research opportunities, where undergraduate students spend summers working in the faculty research laboratories. They have also supported purchase of equipment used in research, such as for X-ray diffraction, study of properties of surfaces, and a solar simulator for research on solar cells.
An important thrust of the foundation has been fellowships for outstanding graduate students studying and doing research toward a doctorate degree, in the form of the Anton Burg Graduate Fellowship and other graduate student support.
Additional support has been given to other fields, including the science of winemaking, library collections, and the study of space.
ABBF will continue its support of scientific research and teaching, and broaden its scope to include health sciences and clinical applications of research. It regularly devotes all of its endowment earnings to grants to qualified institutions and investigators.
