Pittsburgh History

ARCS® Foundation is a nationally recognized nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization started and run entirely by women who boost American leadership and aid advancement in science and technology.  To address the country's need for new scientists and engineers, we provide unrestricted funding to help the country's brightest graduate and undergraduate students create new knowledge and innovative technologies.

ARCS Foundation provides a unique, cost-effective, and quality-assured mechanism through which corporate, civic, and philanthropic organizations, as well as individuals, can impact American scientific and technological capacity, a primary engine of national economic growth and a cornerstone of our quality of life.  As an all-volunteer women’s organization, we have only one part-time administrative assistant, thus assuring our donors that nearly 100% of their contribution will go directly to awards for outstanding scholars.

In the 20 years since it was chartered in 2003, the Pittsburgh Chapter has grown from a dedicated core of women supporting a single scholar, to a vital group of about 100 members. In total, members have generated individual and corporate/foundation commitments toward scholar awards of over $2.4 million and have supported 204 Ph.D. scholars in nationally-ranked science/technology, engineering and medical research programs at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and between 2011 and 2017, Penn State University.