Undergraduate New Investigator Grants

Program Goals

The goals of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund are:

1. To support fundamental research in the petroleum and energy fields,
2. To develop the next generation of engineers and scientists through support of advanced scientific education.

The Undergraduate New Investigator Grants Program is intended to initiate the research program of new scientists and engineers who are faculty members at undergraduate research institutions and to provide financial incentives for students at those institutions to become involved in research activities leading to employment or continued study in graduate school.

Undergraduate New Investigator Grants

Undergraduate New Investigator (UNI) grants provide funds for scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent careers in academia and have limited or no preliminary results for a research project they wish to pursue. The UNI grants are to be used to illustrate proof of principle, i.e., feasibility, and accordingly, are to be viewed as seed money for generating preliminary results that can be used to apply for continuation funding from other agencies.

Eligibility for a UNI grant requires that a PI is in a department without a doctoral program, and that the students receiving stipends for the work to be done are undergraduates (M.S.-level students can also be supported IF one or more undergraduates are also supported from this grant). Accordingly, the research being proposed need not be high risk but it should be of publishable quality. The research opportunities afforded must be of the highest caliber, and provide a compelling educational experience for the student.

Award Information

Amount: $50,000 over 2 years
Estimated number of awards: ~ 45 each year

Nature and Scope of the Research

ACS PRF research grants are made to non-profit institutions for regularly appointed scientists whose research may be sponsored in accordance with the ACS PRF Transfer Agreement:

“The recipient (ACS) shall use all funds exclusively for advanced scientific education and fundamental research in the ‘petroleum field,’ which may include any field of pure science which in the judgment of (ACS) may afford a basis for subsequent research directly connected with the petroleum field.”

Note that fundamental research is required as opposed to applied research or methods development. When submitting an application, you will be asked to select a scientific discipline that PRF supports.

The UNI grant program is designed as a source of funds for faculty members at the inception of their careers. The principal investigator must demonstrate to the PRF Program Managers, Advisory Board members, and to the scientific or engineering community of reviewers that their research projects will generate preliminary data that can be used by the PI to seek continuation funding from other agencies. Poorly crafted proposals that are deemed to be “noncompetitive” will be denied without external review.

All proposals will undergo a compliance check for the following required elements:

• Completeness and correctness of the application;
• Research topic is fundamental and not applied;
• Relevance to petroleum or alternative energy; and
• Description of the impact on advanced scientific education of students.

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Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible as a principal investigator for a UNI grant, the applicant must be a member of the faculty of a college or university within the United States; be within the first three years of their first academic appointment as a regular faculty member; have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. (however, an application may be submitted before the degree has been awarded); and be appointed at the rank of Assistant Professor or the equivalent. In addition, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• The non-profit institution submitting the UNI proposal must certify that the person listed as a principal investigator on the cover page qualifies as a principal investigator under the institution’s policies.
• In view of the long-standing policy of The ACS Petroleum Research Fund to give priority to support of students, the principal investigator must be eligible to serve as the formal, official supervisor of the students for whom he/she is seeking support.
• The term of appointment of the principal investigator must promise reasonable continuity of service. The appointment should continue at least through the period of funding requested in the UNI proposal.

Generally the above criteria are automatically met by tenure-track principal investigators. If you are not tenure-track, you should attach a brief statement to your application describing your appointment and you must include a Department Chair’s letter affirming that you meet all three of the above criteria. Finally, no co-PI can be involved but one or more collaborators can participate on the project. Read more about Eligibility, Terms and Conditions for UNI Grants.

Funding Criteria

The PRF Advisory Board makes relative rankings of proposals and recommendations for funding on the basis of the following criteria (in order of importance):

• Overall quality, significance, and scientific merit of the proposed research, including the extent to which it will increase basic knowledge and/or stimulate additional research.
• Extent to which advanced scientific education will be enhanced through the involvement of students in the research.
• Impact of PRF funding the research, including the effect on the principal investigator’s overall research program.
• Qualifications or potential of the principal investigator and adequacy of the facilities to conduct the research.

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Budget Guidelines

If the proposal is funded, the budget becomes part of the grant agreement. Revisions to the grant budget require prior approval of PRF.

• Amount: Proposals request $50,000 for a two-year period. The total budget may be divided among years according to the needs of the project. The normal ACS PRF budget year extends from September 1 to August 31.
• Excluded Charges: No overhead, secretarial and/or administrative salaries may be charged against the grant. Funds may not be used to support post-doctoral associates, doctoral students, laboratory technicians, contractors, consultants, or visiting faculty.
• Principal Investigator Stipend: To provide the opportunity for full-time research during the summer months, the principal investigator may request a contribution to his or her summer salary, with an upper limit of $7,500 per summer, including fringe benefits, to a maximum of $15,000. This limit does NOT change as a result of time extensions.
• Support of Students: The magnitude of fellowships or stipends paid from PRF grants shall be determined by the grantee institution. Grant funds must be used to support undergraduate students; M.S. students may also be supported.
• Capital Equipment: The need for adequate equipment to perform the proposed research is recognized, and UNI funds may be used for this purpose. Provide justification for the capital equipment in Part VII of the application and discuss institutional cost-matching for the purchase.
• Travel: Except for fieldwork which is budgeted separately, a maximum of $2,000 per year, or $4,000 total, may be used for travel in connection with the project. Support of student travel to scientific meetings is encouraged. There are no restrictions on foreign travel.

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Limitations

• A principal investigator may submit only one research proposal per meeting and may not hold more than one active PRF research grant at a time.
• New investigators may have only three (3) UNI grant applications considered and/or one (1) UNI grant funded in their career. Thereafter, the new investigator may apply to the Undergraduate Research (UR) program.
• A principal investigator with an active PRF research grant, including a grant on time extension, may not submit an application for a new grant.

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Program Managers

• Dr. Ronald E. Siatkowski, Acting Director; Polymer Science, Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, and Physical Chemistry/Chemical Physics, telephone: 202-872-6091, email: r_siatkowski@acs.org
• Dr. Dean Dunn, Geology, Geochemistry and Geophysics, telephone: (202) 872-4083, email: d_dunn@acs.org
• Dr. Burtrand I. Lee, Surface Science and Materials Science, telephone: (202) 872-6254, email: b_lee@acs.org
• Dr. Jeffrey Smiley, Synthetic, Inorganic, and Physical Organic Chemistry, telephone: (202) 872-6093, e-mail: j_smiley@acs.org

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