So You Want to Change the World?

Our big news unveiled at the 2020 Virtual AIChE® Gala was the announcement of the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI), a collaboration of AIChE, the American Chemistry Council, Chemours Company, and HBCU Week Foundation. FOSSI is dedicated to students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), who would otherwise not have access to a quality STEM education, by eliminating financial barriers for those who are often the first-generation attending college.

FOSSI’s first-year goal is to underwrite 150 STEM scholars at an investment of $7.2 million. Based on a cost per scholar of $48,000, each FOSSI recipient is awarded a four-year $10K scholarship, internship preparation and placement, leadership training, mentoring and access to AIChE student networking opportunities.

Chemours is committed to being a force for good in the communities where we operate. We're excited to be the lead sponsor for FOSSI and to work with companies across our industry to drive this game-changing program. - Mark Vergnano, President and CEO, The Chemours Company

We’re excited to announce that the application process for FOSSI is now open and strongly encourage you to share the application link with teachers, parents and students in your local communities. FOSSI is a core initiative of the AIChE Doing a World of Good campaign and its All for Good: Engineering for Inclusion priority, which is driving industry-wide improvement in equity, diversity and inclusion. It is envisioned as the first of several efforts designed to address the needs of other underrepresented groups, toward our ultimate goal of 100% parity in our profession.

If you are interested in getting your organization involved with FOSSI and/or want to stay informed, please click here.