SOM Foundation
The SOM Foundation was founded in 1979 with the goal to advance the design profession’s ability to address the key topics of our time by bringing together and supporting groups and individuals, each with the highest possible design aspirations. The Foundation’s grant programming was established in 1981 and currently offers five annual awards across the United States, Europe, and China. The grants support students and faculty of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, interior design, and engineering to undertake rigorous interdisciplinary research that can help shape our future. As of 2021, the SOM Foundation has awarded more than $2.7 million to over 281 fellows who have gone on to distinguish themselves in professional and academic careers. Some notable SOM Foundation award recipients include Marion Weiss (1982), Werner Sobek (1983), Douglas Garofalo (1987), Santiago Calatrava (1988), Joshua Ramus (1995), Ole Scheeren (2000), Catie Newell (2006), Brandon Clifford (2011), Biayna Bogosian and Kristine Mun (2018), [10] and Clare Lyster (2019). Awards The SOM Foundation currently offers five awards: Research Prize European Research Prize Structural Engineering Fellowship China Fellowship Robert L. Wesley Award Research Prize In 2018, the SOM Foundation introduced the Research Prize—an evolution of the former SOM Prize and SOM Travel Fellowship