Funding Opportunities

Search opportunities funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program (DOE IP) that supports the production, and the development of production techniques, of radioactive and stable isotopes in short supply for research and applications.

If you are interested in applying for a funding opportunity listed below, click on the link and follow the instructions listed. For questions regarding funding opportunities, please contact contact@istopes.com.

 

Department of Energy Announces Early Career Research Program for 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science today announced it is now accepting applications for the 2026 DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program. The program will advance President Trump’s Executive Order Restoring Gold Standard Science,  providing five-year awards to exceptional early career researchers at U.S. academic institutions, DOE National Laboratories, and Office of Science User Facilities to stimulate new research directions in mission critical areas supported by DOE’s Office of Science.

“The energy and creativity of early career scientists is crucial for propelling scientific discovery forward. The Department of Energy is committed to nurturing this talent through programs like the Early Career Research Program,” said DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. "These awards provide essential resources and opportunities for collaboration, enabling these researchers to explore novel concepts and accelerate the development of solutions for our nation's energy and scientific landscape." 

To be eligible for the program, 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 or Office of Science User Facility who is within 10 years of having earned a doctorate degree. Awards to an institution of higher education will be approximately $875,000 over five years and awards to a DOE National Laboratory or Office of Science User Facility will be approximately $2,750,000 over five years.  

DOE’s Office of Science is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Early career researchers may apply to one of seven Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Biological and Environmental Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; Nuclear Physics; and Isotope R&D and Production. Proposed research topics must fall within the programmatic priorities of DOE’s Office of Science, which are provided in the program announcement. Funding will be competitively awarded on the basis of peer review.  

Pre-applications are mandatory and are due on March 24, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Applications will be due on June 2, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Only those applicants whose pre-application is encouraged by DOE may submit full applications. 

Total planned funding is up to $145 million, with $79 million in Fiscal Year 2026 dollars and outyear funding contingent on congressional appropriations. 

To see more about this funding opportunity please visit the funding opportunities page.

 

DOE Announces the EPSCoR Notice of Funding Opportunity

DOE’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for Building EPSCoR-State/DOE-National Laboratory Partnerships. These partnerships advance understanding of the physical world by supporting fundamental, early-stage energy research collaborations with the DOE National Laboratories. Participation by undergraduate students, graduate students, or postdoctoral fellows is required. Early career faculty from EPSCoR jurisdictions are encouraged to apply. Utilization of DOE user facilities is encouraged. Information on the SC User Facilities can be found at https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities/User-Facilities-at-a-Glance and doe-designated-user-facilities; information on the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy user facilities can be found at https://nsuf.inl.gov.

DOE EPSCoR follows NSF EPSCoR Program eligibility determinations. As a result, and in accordance with 2 CFR 910.126, competition eligibility for award is restricted. Domestic applicants except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, that are within the following jurisdictions will be eligible to apply under this NOFO: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and Wyoming.  

  • Total estimated funding: $35,000,000
  • Announcement number: DE-FOA-0003615
  • NOFO title: BUILDING EPSCOR-STATE/NATIONAL LABORATORY PARTNERSHIPS
  • Pre-applications due March 18, 2026 (Pre-applications are REQUIRED)
  • Applications due May 21, 2026

DOE’s Office of Science is now Accepting Applications for Graduate Student Research Awards

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is pleased to announce that the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is now accepting applications for the 2026 solicitation 1. Applications are due on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET. 

SCGSR application assistance workshops will be held on March 5, 2026, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. ET (register on Zoom) and April 9, 2026, 2:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. ET (register on Zoom). The first workshop will provide a general overview of the program and application requirements. It will also include time for attendees to discuss their potential research topics and their alignment with the SCGSR priority areas with managers of each participating program office. The second workshop will guide attendees through the application process, answer general questions, provide guidance on proposal writing, and feature discussions with scientists and former awardees. Additionally, the program manager will host virtual office hours every Friday 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET starting on March 6, 2026 via this Zoom link.

The SCGSR program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students for conducting part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE National Laboratory in collaboration with a DOE National Laboratory scientist. The goal of the program is to prepare graduate students for scientific and technical careers critically important to the mission of DOE’s Office of Science, with a special emphasis in supporting the goals of the Genesis Mission. The research opportunity will advance the graduate students’ overall graduate theses while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the host DOE National Laboratories. In addition, SCGSR awardees may have the opportunity for short international research visits to select prestigious centers to broaden their horizons.

Since its inception in 2014, the SCGSR program has provided support to over 1,300 graduate awardees from more than 170 U.S. universities to conduct thesis research at all 17 DOE National Laboratories across the nation. Areas of research include but are not limited to: physics, chemistry, materials science, planetary science, geosciences, biosciences (non-medical), nuclear fusion science and engineering, mathematics, computer and computational sciences, engineering, microelectronics, quantum information science, and artificial intelligence.

The Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) sponsors and manages the SCGSR program. WDTS manages the program in collaboration with the Office of Science’s six research program offices, the DOE Isotope R&D and Production office, and the DOE’s National Laboratories and User Facilities.

More information on the SCGSR program can be found by visiting the SCGSR program website or by emailing the SCGSR team.