§16534 Department of Energy Early Career Awards for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Researchers

Summary

The Director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy must run a program that gives grants to early-career scientists and engineers at colleges, nonprofit research organizations, and National Laboratories to do research that supports the Department’s mission. Each grant must be at least $80,000 and no more than $125,000, and can last up to 5 years. To apply, a person normally must have finished a doctorate no more than 10 years before applying (the Director can make exceptions for things like military service or family responsibilities). Applicants must show promise in science, engineering, or math and work as a tenure-track assistant professor (or equivalent), at a nonprofit nondegree research group (like a museum, observatory, or research lab), or as a scientist at a National Laboratory. Winners are picked by competition and peer review. Applicants must send proposals with the information the Director asks for. Proposals will be judged on basic scientific merit, how new or transformative the idea is, how well the project links research and education (including undergraduate education), and the applicant’s potential for leadership. The Director must try to award grants to a mix of institution types and must do outreach, including to part B institutions (see 20 U.S.C. 1061) and minority institutions (see 20 U.S.C. 1067k). Within 90 days after August 9, 2007, the Director must report to two Congressional committees on efforts to recruit and keep early-career researchers at National Laboratories, covering policies, effects, barriers, and funding. Congress authorized $25,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2008 through 2013 to run this program.