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

Summary

The Director of the Office of Science must run a grant program to fund early career scientists and engineers at U.S. colleges, nonprofit research groups, and National Laboratories to do research that fits the Department’s mission. Each grant must be between $80,000 and $125,000 and can last up to 5 years. To apply, a person generally must have finished a doctorate within the past 10 years, show promise in a relevant science, engineering, or math field, and be working as a tenure‑track assistant professor (or equivalent), at a U.S. nondegree research organization (like a museum, observatory, or lab), or as a scientist at a National Laboratory. The Director can allow exceptions if someone missed research time for reasons like military service or family duties. Grants are chosen through a competitive, peer review process. Applicants must send a proposal when and how the Director requires. Reviews must consider the project’s scientific merit, how new or transformative it is, how it combines research and education (including undergraduate teaching), and the applicant’s potential to lead in the field. The Director must try to award grants to a mix of institution types and do outreach 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 the House Science and Technology Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on efforts to recruit and keep early career researchers at the National Laboratories. The report must describe recruiting and retention policies and incentives, evaluate their effects on careers and research quality, list any barriers (such as limits on positions, rules, or pay systems), and say how much money was used and where it came from. Congress authorized $25,000,000 per year for each fiscal year 2008 through 2013 to run this program.