WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science today (May 7) announced that 61 scientists from across the nation will receive up to $15.3 million in funding for research as part of DOE's Early Career Research Program. The effort, now in its fourth 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 providing support to the most creative and productive researchers in their early career years, this program is helping to build and sustain America's science 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 very 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 funding is for the first year of planned five-year research grants, subject to congressional appropriations.

A November 2012 report of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology strongly recommended that federal agencies provide such support to the most talented early career investigators as a means of building and strengthening the nation's science and technology workforce.

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 ten 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 pool of 770 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 61 awardees, their institutions, and titles of research projects is available on the Early Career Research Program webpage.