Evan Michelson, program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, will visit the University of Arkansas Tuesday, Sept. 24, to discuss philanthropic support for research.

The event will take place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in room 504 of the Arkansas Union.

Hosted by Daniel Sui, vice chancellor for research an innovation, Michelson will discuss how the university can garner philanthropic support for its research enterprise. Mark Power, vice chancellor for advancement, will serve as a discussant following Michelson's talk.   

Michelson oversees the Sloan Foundation's Energy and Environment Program and manages the Foundation's grantmaking to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an international astrophysics research collaboration. He is the author of Assessing the Societal Implications of Emerging Technologies (Routledge, 2016) and is currently writing a new book on philanthropy and the future of science.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants to support orginal research and education related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economics.

Michelson received his Ph.D. at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. He also received a M.A. in international science and technology policy from The George Washington University, a M.A. in the philosophical foundations of physics from Columbia University and a B.A. in philosophy of science from Brown University. Before his appointment at the Sloan Foundation, Michelson worked at the Markle Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation in various capacities.

Michelson's presentation, "Philanthropic Support for Research: A Practitioner's Perspective," is part of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Speaker Series, which is supported in part by a generous gift from the Walton Family Charitable Family Support Foundation.