Our founder, Jack Murdock, was an entrepreneur and visionary, seeking unique solutions to problems through science, research, and innovation. We at the Trust hold the same values and are proud to carry on Jack’s legacy by funding breakthrough scientific research, STEM programs to inspire the next generation of scientists, and entrepreneurial pursuits to solve real-world problems and work toward a better future.
Through the Trust’s Commercialization Initiation grant program, University of Washington’s project addresses one of the most central challenges that limits the use of renewable energy sources—energy storage. The limitation is caused in part by the high cost of producing polymeric ionic membranes for manufacturing flow batteries. This project proposes the development of a low-cost, high performance, ceramic-based membrane for use in grid-scale flow batteries, with technology by Ionic Windows LLC, based in Seattle.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Antibodies are used in virtually all aspects of biomedical research; many are critical tools in medical diagnostics, and some have become part of the powerful armament for cancer treatment. A Trust investment in the STARlet antibody discovery Workstation for high throughput discovery of antibodies from hybridomas and B-cells will set the stage for Fred Hutch to become a global leader in antibody-based and immunotherapy research.
Headquartered in Anchorage, Girl Scouts of Alaska serves girls in 90 communities, 37 percent of which are off the road system in rural Alaska. For these girls in kindergarten through 12th grade, Girl Scouts offers the only afterschool, leadership, and camp programs. Now, with the help of a Trust grant, Girl Scouts has expanded its STEM program to offer experiences in astronomy, engineering, computer and app coding, environmental workshops, and flight simulation to give girls experiences with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Believing that the future of the world depends largely on the ventures created by the next generation, Praxis is a directed community of faith-based entrepreneurs seeking to make a social impact by building businesses and nonprofits that advance the common good. Praxis provides intensive trainings in a cohort model to the leaders of these nonprofits and businesses to build sustainable, high-impact organizations. To ensure the depth and quality of Praxis’ community engagement as it grows each year, the Trust funded a new partner to recruit, train, and mentor social entrepreneurs.
