Kukucka Foundation

Created in 2023 in his namesake, the Kukucka Foundation (EIN 99-6099145) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that makes grants to serve the public good. With a personal commitment of $30M (minimum) in perpetuity, the foundation intends to primarily reward aspiring gifted and talented students who pursue a STEM centered course of study at the Master's or Doctoral level in the biological and material sciences using electron microscopy (EM).

"Anything worth doing today for the advancement of humankind is and will be done under an electron microscope..."

- Mark A. Kukucka

Foundation Aims & Objectives:

• Advancing the art & science of discovery in the ultrastructural world for gifted and talented students training in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and/or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) academic programs

• Providing scholarships to aspiring students (MS & PhD) who dedicate themselves to TEM and SEM studies ( to be known as "Kukucka Scholars")

• Offering other scholarships and financial assistance to support STEM centered students and activities in the biological and material science EM worlds

1. Scholarships available thru Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), University of Maryland (College Park, MD), Civil Air Patrol (Maxwell AFB, AL), Eastern Technical High School (Essex, MD), St Stephen's Catholic Church (Bradshaw, MD), St Paul's Lutheran Church (Kingsville, MD)

2. Endowments set-up at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), University of Maryland (College Park, MD), Civil Air Patrol (Maxwell AFB, AL)

n.b. Scholarships and endowments totaling $121,250 were made in 2024

n.b. Scholarships and endowments totaling $96,000 were made in 2023

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kukucka-foundation