The Trust guides nonprofit organizations through every level of their development through grants and other resources.
Sectors the Trust is committed to enriching in the Pacific Northwest:
Artistic & Cultural Expression
Civic Engagement & Community Services
Health & Environmental Stewardship
Education & Leadership Development
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The Trust has a wealth of knowledge and experience that can make all the difference to you and your organization.
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August 3, 2016
September 28, 2016
December 12, 2025
December 10, 2025
Our benefactor believed deeply in the power of scientific research to inspire innovation and discovery to improve the quality of life for all. The Murdock Trust works with scientific researchers, educators, and institutions to drive leading-edge research and education across a diverse collection of scientific disciplines to help serve the common good of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Aspirations in this area reflect the outcomes we hope to see through our investment in scientific research.
Scientific innovation enhances and sustains human flourishing
Create new knowledge and train brilliant scientific minds
Educate an inclusive and vibrant professional and scientific community of practice
Advance Manufacturing · Biology · Biomedical Research · Chemistry · Clean and Sustainable Energy · Disease and Medical Diagnostics · Genetics · Geology · Marine, Earth and Environmental Science · Materials Science and Engineering · Nanofabrication · Physics and Astronomy · Robotics
See our Eligibility Guidelines for full details ›
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A new mass spectrometer catalyzed diverse and groundbreaking discoveries involving woolly mammoths, human diet, and more.
More than 400 students from 28 institutions across the Pacific Northwest gathered for an impactful 31st annual Murdock College Science Research (MCSR) Conference.
A collaborative project between four institutions is yielding a greater understanding of the Milky Way Galaxy and the history of its formation.
High-resolution instrumentation supports advancements in spotting and stopping cancer at its earliest stage.
Supports cutting-edge scientific research from scientific biomedical research institutions or major universities, mainly in the form of major scientific instrumentation. Learn more ›
Supports the commercialization of bench discoveries to market. Learn more ›
Supports secondary school science teachers and pre-service science teachers as they expand their scientific horizons by pursuing cutting-edge research with mentors in an academic or national lab. Learn more ›
Augments start-up research packages offered to new tenure-track faculty hires in the natural sciences at private institutions to assist with initiating their research program. Learn more ›
Supports the establishment of a research program in the natural sciences and engagement of undergraduate students in the process. Learn more ›
By invitation only. Strengthens the research efforts in the natural sciences of eleven private colleges with the capacity for division-wide, faculty-student research programs. Learn more ›
Recognizes one senior faculty with an established, productive, and nationally recognized research program, and one junior faculty with demonstrated exceptional potential to establish such a program. Learn more ›
Supports the collaboration of multiple institutions in interdisciplinary natural science research projects. Learn more ›
Supports capital projects, such as science buildings or laboratory renovations, for private predominately undergraduate institutions, as well as special projects for major universities and select biomedical institutions.
Limited support for equipment/technology and capital projects that will have transformative impact on the institution to privately funded schools and two-year Tribal colleges, for dental and nursing programs (those that offer public-facing health services to the community), and select workforce development programs, particularly those in technology. Learn more ›
The goal of the MCSRP — designed exclusively for private four-year liberal arts colleges in the Trust's funding region — is to strengthen these institutions' faculty and undergraduate student research efforts in the natural sciences. We award grants to colleges and universities with the capacity for developing division-wide faculty-student research programs that can be sustained with institutional resources and external funding.
When secondary school science teachers and pre-service science teachers engage in cutting-edge research alongside a scientific mentor, it enriches their students and schools. Teachers become part of a teacher-researcher cohort and learn strategies for translating their research experience into authentic inquiry learning in their classroom.
“The Murdock Trust supports scientific research excellence across the Pacific Northwest, believing in the incredible potential of scientific talent to change the world for the better.”
