The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of 91 early career scientists from across the country who will receive a combined $138 million in funding for research covering a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence, fusion energy, and quantum. These awards are critical to the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to develop the next generation of STEM leaders to solidify America’s role as the driver of science and innovation around the world.
“Investing in cutting edge research and science is a cornerstone of DOE’s mission and essential to maintaining America’s role as a global innovation leader,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Biden-Harris Administration is funding scientists and researchers at our nation’s national labs and universities, early in their careers, ensuring they have the resources to expand scientific discovery and pursue solutions to some of the most complex questions.”
The 2024 Early Career Research Program (ECRP) awardees are at 50 universities and 12 DOE national laboratories. These awards, which include research on artificial intelligence, fusion energy, quantum, and much more, are critical to DOE’s longstanding efforts to develop the next generation of STEM leaders to solidify America’s role as the driver of science and innovation around the world.
The ECRP bolsters the nation’s scientific workforce by supporting exceptional researchers at the outset of their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work. Since its inception in 2010, the program has made 961 awards, with 631 awards to university researchers and 330 awards to national laboratory researchers.
Awards to an institution of higher education are approximately $875,000 over five years and the minimum request for awards to a DOE national laboratory or Office of Science user facility are approximately $2,750,000 over five years.
The 91 awards announced today will go to scientists in 26 states and the District of Columbia: California (25); Illinois (12); Pennsylvania (6); New Mexico, New York, and Washington (5 awards each); Arizona, Connecticut, and Georgia (3 awards each); District of Columbia, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia (2 awards each); and Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin (1 award each).
Information about the 91 awardees and their research projects is available on the Early Career Research Program webpage.
ECRP awardees in this round of funding were required to be an untenured researcher, a tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution, or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory or Office of Science user facility who received their Ph.D. within the past 12 years.
Research topics for the five-year projects are required to fall within the scope of one of the Office of Science’s eight major program areas:
- Accelerator R&D and Production
- Advanced Scientific Computing Research
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Biological and Environmental Research
- Fusion Energy Sciences
- High Energy Physics
- Isotope R&D and Production
- Nuclear Physics.
Awardees were selected based on peer review by outside scientific experts. The projects announced today are selections for negotiation of a financial award, and the final details for each are subject to final grant and contract negotiations between DOE and the awardees.
Profiles of some previous award recipients, including information about how the program helped them in their research and careers, can be found on the early career profiles page.
Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a negotiation process, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time.