What is your specific question?

I'm chairman of a 501 c3 cleaning science research group putting on a symposium. In order to help defray expenses I'm asking for sponsors to financially support the event. Is their $ support deductible?

Donations to a "qualified" 501c(3) are tax deductible, meaning your organization is incuded in the IRS's list of qualified organizations in their Pub 78. To check that, go to the following web site and do a search for your organization. If it's there, then yes, donations from individuals are tax deductible:

Search for Charities (http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96136,00.html)

As a side note: donations to churches, synagogues, mosques, and government agencies are generally tax deductible, even though most are not listed in Pub 78. But your organization must be listed, or donors can not deduct their donations.