12.11.2007 - 10:19am ET

(CSRwire) PITTSBURGH - December 11, 2007 - The Bayer Foundation announced today it has bestowed a $300,000 grant to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Chemical Engineering to support the Bayer Professorship in Chemical Engineering and the Bayer Graduate Fellowship. This newest grant, which will be awarded over a three-year period, represents the continuation of Bayer's support of these two programs which it first began, through its philanthropic arm, the Bayer Foundation, in 1979.

Paula Hammond, Ph.D., a full professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named the Bayer Professor, while Bradley Niesner, a first-year graduate student, is the Bayer Fellow.

Dr. Hammond's leading edge research in macromolecular design and synthesis, directed assembly and nanoscale design of materials has wide-ranging potential applications for various products, processes and technologies in a number of industries. In the health care industry, for example, Dr. Hammond's approach to electrostatic layering or "ordering" of films may one day be applied to medical devices implanted in the body and to drug delivery systems, such as patches and pills. The next generation of microbatteries (necessary as technology becomes smaller and smaller), alternative energy technologies like fuel cells and computer displays all may be significantly advanced by Dr. Hammond's work.

An African-American female scientist, Dr. Hammond also is a strong advocate for diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and has called for reversing underrepresentation of women and minorities in these fields if the United States is to remain the world's innovation leader.

"For nearly 30 years, Bayer has been proud to be affiliated with MIT and its Department of Chemical Engineering, one of the finest academic and research institutions not only in the United States, but in the world," said Dr. Attila Molnar, President and CEO, Bayer Corporation, and President, Bayer Foundation. "Dr. Hammond's research exemplifies the brilliant scholarship that routinely emerges from MIT. We are especially honored to support her for both her innovative research, which is closely aligned to Bayer's, as well as for her strong advocacy for diversity in STEM – an issue to which we at Bayer are also strongly committed."

Commenting on the grant, Gregory S. Babe, President and CEO, Bayer MaterialScience LLC, and board member of the Bayer Foundation, said the Bayer Graduate Fellowship is equally important to Bayer. "Students like Bradley Niesner represent the future for our industry. We are delighted to help such a promising student pursue his graduate studies in chemical engineering by presenting him with the Bayer Fellowship."

The grants were made recently when Bayer executives from the United Sates and Germany joined with Dr. Hammond, four previous Bayer Professors and others to share their insights about their current research. The former Bayer Professors attending the symposium were Gregory Stephanopoulos (Bayer Professor 2001-2006); Gregory J. McRae (Bayer Professor 1995-2001); Robert E. Cohen (Bayer Professor 1988-1995); and Clark Colton (Bayer Professor 1979-1986).

"At MIT, we are dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of the natural world. We are grateful to the Bayer Foundation for this grant and for its unwavering support of the Department of Chemical Engineering for the past 27 years," said Klavs Jensen, department head. "The work of Dr. Hammond and all the previous Bayer Professors has been greatly enhanced by Bayer’s generosity."

In addition to this latest gift, Bayer has awarded more than $2 million to MIT for the Bayer Professorship and Graduate Fellowship since 1979.

About The Bayer Foundation

The Bayer Foundation is an endowed 501(c)(3) entity and is the primary source of Bayer Corporation's philanthropy in the United States. With a programmatic focus on civic and social service programs, education and workforce development, arts and culture, and health and human services, the Bayer Foundation creates and supports partnerships that improve communities in which Bayer employees live and work.

About Bayer Corporation

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2006 net sales of 7.8 billion euros and employed 17,200 at year end. Bayer's three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people's lives through a broad range of essential products that help prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability. In addition, Bayer Corporate and Business Services provides business-critical services and market-competitive solutions to Bayer subgroups in the North American Region.

About MIT

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a co-educational privately endowed research university, is dedicated to advancing knowledge and educating students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will serve the nation and the world in the 21st Century. The Institute has more than 900 faculty and 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It is organized into five schools: Architecture and Urban Planning; Engineering; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; MIT Sloan School of Management; and Science.

MIT's commitment to innovation has led to a host of scientific breakthroughs and technological advances. Achievements of the Institute's faculty and graduates have include the first chemical synthesis of penicillin and vitamin A, the development of inertial guidance systems, modern technologies for artificial limbs, and the magnetic core memory that made possible the development of digital computers. Sixty-three alumni, faculty, researchers and staff have won the Nobel Prizes.

Current areas of research and education include cancer, energy, neuroscience and the study of the brain and mind, bioengineering, the environment and sustainable development, information sciences and technology, new media, financial technology, and entrepreneurship.

Find more information at ,www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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