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From the beginning, Oxford’s excellence has been sustained and advanced by benefactors, often through gifts left in their Wills. Many of these benefactors have given their names to our colleges and institutions, or to fellowships, awards and bursaries. For almost 900 years the fruits of Oxford’s excellence has been put to use for the benefit of the world in fields as far ranging as building infrastructure to treating disease.

In MPLS we are fortunate to have a history of donors who have chosen to leave such gifts. One of these donors is Professor Samuel Glasstone, a physical chemist, who left a bequest to the University in 1971.

The Glasstone Research Fellowships in Science were first awarded in 1990 in memory of Professor Glasstone and his wife Violette, a Botany graduate and alumna of St Hilda’s College. The intention of the Fellowships is to encourage scientists at an early stage of their career to follow their research interests at Oxford.

During his life Samuel Glasstone authored 40 popular science textbooks. His first, Chemistry in Daily Life, was published in 1929 as the result of the enthusiastic response to his five-part BBC Radio Series of the same name. Glasstone’s books covered physical chemistry, reaction rates, nuclear reactor engineering, Mars, space sciences, the environmental effects of nuclear energy and nuclear testing. He and his wife co-authored The Food You Eat, a practical guide to home nutrition in 1943.

Under the terms of the bequest, Glasstone Research Fellowships can be held at the University of Oxford at the departments of Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Materials, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, and in the discipline of Plant Sciences within the department of Biology. 

Glasstone Fellowship applications open each Autumn, usually between early September and mid-October, and fellowships normally start from 1 October of the following year. Glasstone Fellowships run for three years (subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary period), and include contribution to the costs of conference attendance or fieldwork etc. and a research support grant payable to the host department. More information can be found on the Glasstone Fellowships page.

Legacy gifts still form a vital part of Oxford’s success. See more information on leaving a gift in your Will