Department of Energy Announces Early Career Research Program for FY 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it is accepting proposals for the 2022 DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program to support the research of outstanding scientists early in their careers. The program will support over 60 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions and DOE National Laboratories.

To be eligible for the program, 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. The applicant must also have received a Ph.D. within the past ten years. University awards average around $750,000 for five years and national laboratory awards average around $2,500,000 for five years.

The DOE Office of Science is the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Early career researchers may apply to one of eight Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Biological and Environmental Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; Nuclear Physics; Accelerator R&D and Production; and Isotope R&D and Production. Proposed research topics must fall within the programmatic priorities of DOE’s Office of Science, which are provided in the program announcements. Funding will be competitively awarded on the basis of peer review.

Pre-applications are mandatory and are due on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Full proposals will be due on Thursday, January 20, 2022, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Only those applicants that receive notification from DOE encouraging a formal proposal may submit full proposals.

For each of the last 12 years of this program, an average of 42 university and 23 national laboratory awards have been initiated each year.

Further information can be found on the Office of Science funding opportunities page.