WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science has selected 35 scientists from across the nation – including 17 from DOE's national laboratories and 18 from U.S. universities – to receive significant funding for research as part of DOE's Early Career Research Program. The effort, now in its fifth year, is designed to bolster the nation's scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during the crucial early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work.
"By supporting our most creative and productive researchers early in their careers, this program is helping to build and sustain America's scientific workforce," said Patricia M. Dehmer, Acting Director of DOE's Office of Science. "We congratulate this year's winners on having competed successfully for these highly selective awards, and we look forward to following their accomplishments over the next five years."
Under the program, university-based researchers will receive at least $150,000 per year to cover summer salary and research expenses. For researchers based at DOE national laboratories, where DOE typically covers full salary and expenses of laboratory employees, grants will be at least $500,000 per year to cover year-round salary plus research expenses. The research grants are planned for five years.
To be eligible for the DOE award, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory, who received a Ph.D. within the past 10 years. Research topics are required to fall within one of the Department's Office of Science's six major program offices:
- Advanced Scientific Computing Research
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Biological and Environmental Research
- Fusion Energy Sciences
- High Energy Physics
- Nuclear Physics
Awardees were selected from a large pool of university- and national laboratory-based applicants. Selection was based on peer review by outside scientific experts. Projects announced today are selections for negotiation of financial award. The final details for each project award are subject to final grant and contract negotiations between DOE and the awardees.
A list of the 35 awardees, their institutions, and titles of research projects is available on the Early Career Research Program webpage http://science.energy.gov/early-career/.