SOM Foundation was established in 1979 by the Partners of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). An early goal of the Foundation was to influence the architecture and engineering professions by enriching the education of the nation’s most promising young architecture and engineering students through the opportunity for travel and discovery of the world beyond their current horizons. This goal was realized when the SOM Foundation launched its Traveling Fellowship Program in 1981. The Fellowships continue to offer recent graduates the rare opportunity for travel in connection with carrying out in-depth research, to collaborate with other professionals, and to pursue independent study outside the established patterns of formal education.