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CORVALLIS - The Hach Scientific Foundation of Loveland, Colo., recently announced that it will fund several merit-based scholarships for chemistry students at Oregon State University, beginning this fall.

The Hach Scientific Foundation Chemistry and Chemistry Teacher Scholarship Fund will provide two $6,000 scholarships for the 2004-05 academic year and will eventually fund up to eight $6,000 awards each year. Half of those annual awards will be made to students intending to pursue careers as science teachers.

The two recipients for 2004-2005 are Luke O'Rourke, a senior from Eugene majoring in chemistry; and Ryan Kanter, a junior from Portland (97267) majoring in chemistry education.

The Hach Scientific Foundation was established in 1982 to improve access to and quality of science education, particularly in the field of chemistry.

"The foundation supports initiatives that encourage the youth of America to explore the sciences," said Kathryn Hach-Darrow, chair and co-founder of the foundation. "We are especially interested in increasing the number and quality of science teachers."

Fewer than 10 universities nationwide receive the level of support that OSU is getting from the Hach Scientific Foundation.

"We are delighted with the foundation's commitment," said Douglas Keszler, chair of the OSU chemistry department. "This generous support will provide much appreciated, much needed opportunities for deserving students."

Hach-Darrow and her late husband, Clifford, founded the Hach Company in 1947, in Ames, Iowa, with the mission of making safe drinking water available to all.

They developed a simple method for measuring hardness in drinking water, and the product line later expanded with many more ways to serve the public through analytical chemistry. Today, Hach products and services are used worldwide to test and assure water quality.