DOE · US

Office of Science Early Career Research Program (2026)

Deadline Rolling — no fixed date

Award $96 million total (about $875,000 over five years per university award; about $2,750,000 over five years per national laboratory award)

Announced October 8, 2026

Early Career Energy Materials Quantum Academic National Lab Early Career

What this means for your lab

This award funds early-career investigators and their research programmes, including quantum science, and does not name specific hardware. Budgets at this scale typically cover a share of a low-temperature STM/AFM, a UHV surface-analysis platform with XPS or ARPES, or a dilution refrigerator for milli-Kelvin transport measurements. We are glad to talk through instrumentation with any awardee who wants to, whether or not equipment is involved.

Who can apply

Early-career faculty at U.S. universities and early-career scientists at DOE National Laboratories and Office of Science User Facilities. 67 selectees from 39 universities, 11 national laboratories and user facilities, and 26 states. The source page does not list individual selectees; the full list is on the Office of Science Awards page.

Read the official announcement ↗ Always confirm dates and eligibility against the agency’s own posting.