If you’ve got an idea for a research project that could save the world if only you could get a few million dollars of funding, don’t bother call. ing the Rockefeller Foundation. If they have an interest in such a grand-scale science effort, they’ll hand- pick the scientists they want to work on it. On the other hand, if you’re more modestly inclined investigator whose proposal requires less than $100,000, you might indeed do well to ring up the folks at Rockefeller, which takes two distinctly different approaches to doling out its riches— one for established investigators, the other for newcomers. Although it is best known for its multimillion-dollar support of basic and applied research—often carried out by already-eminent researchers—the 76-year-old foundation also distributes dozens of grants-in-aid each year to scientists who submit unsolicitied proposals requesting $100,000 or less. Approved on the signature of a program officer and the foundation...

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