Greetings,
We are excited to share this funding opportunity from the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The ONR Young Investigator Program aims to support early career academic scientists and engineers addressing innovative research areas who have the potential to contribute long-term to the advancement of the Department of Navy's Science and Technology program. More information about the award can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.
- OSP Deadline: October 23, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET
Departments or areas may require additional time for proposal review and submission. Please discuss a timeline with your departmental or FORA grants administrator.
- Sponsor Deadline: October 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
- Award Amount: $750,000 over a 36-month period of performance.
Applicants may request up to $250,000 for each 12-month interval, including indirect costs.
Program Overview
The goal of the ONR Young Investigator Program (YIP) is to identify and support early-career scientists and engineers in academia and nonprofits who show exceptional promise for creative research and have the potential to contribute long-term to the advancement of the Department of Navy’s Science and Technology program. This cohort of innovators will tackle some of the most challenging naval warfighter issues by utilizing transformative approaches and pioneering new technologies. The YIP is not a "research initiation" opportunity with standards that are less demanding than ONR's other research grant programs; instead, it is intended to confer honor upon awardees beyond the funding being provided. YIP provides engagement opportunities for early faculty with the Naval Research Enterprise via the Summer Faculty Research Program, Sabbatical Leave Program, Scientists to Sea, and similar outreach activities. The program also intends to educate, develop, and encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers through knowledge transfer to undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral participants. Proposals should be highly innovative and address basic or applied research in the areas of interest described in the ONR Science and Technology (S&T) Department section of ONR's website.
Focus Areas
- Proposals must identify a primary ONR S&T Focus Area:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Autonomy
- Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) and Naval Space
- Directed Energy and Kinetic Systems
- Materials and Electronics
- Human and Biological Systems
- Manufacturing
- Naval Engineering
- Naval Aerospace
- Ocean, Atmosphere, and Space
- Power and Energy
- Undersea Systems
Eligibility Criteria
- Academic scientists and engineers holding a first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment.
- Must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident on the date proposals are due
- PhD or equivalent received on or after January 1, 2019.
- Affiliation with a U.S. institution of higher education or eligible non-profit.
- A PI may submit only one application under this solicitation. Co-PIs are not permitted.
- Prior ONR YIP recipients and tenured faculty are ineligible to apply.
Selection Criteria
- Applicant's full proposals be evaluated against the following criteria:
- Technical Merit - A creative proposal demonstrating the potential for making progress in an ONR research area and the degree of innovation, and soundness of the technical concept. Technical merit review also includes the PI's awareness of the state of the art and understanding of the scope of the problem, and capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques, or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives.
- Naval Science and Technology Priorities - Basic and Applied research that address new knowledge to develop new technologies that ultimately become new capabilities, and alignment to an ONR S&T Focus Area.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) - Past performance and experience of the Principal Investigator - demonstrated by the significance and impact of previous and ongoing research, publications, professional activities, and awards.
- Letter of Support - Long-term commitment letter of support by the University to the applicant and the proposed research detailed in the letter of support from appropriate official(s).
- Budget - Cost realism, affordability, and budget constraints.
Additional Information and Resources
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate Program Officer who is the point of contact for a specific technology area to discuss their research ideas before submitting a proposal. A brief topic description may be submitted to facilitate these discussions but are not required. Such discussions can clarify the content and breadth of the priority research areas and enhance the match between a subsequent proposal and Department of the Navy research needs.
For full program details, download the ONR Fiscal Year 27 YIP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) zip file from Grants.gov (under "Related documents"). The deadline for application inquiries and questions about eligibility and technical requirements is October 16, 2026.
A proposal not selected for the YIP may still be considered for an ONR grant award. The proposal would be in competition with all other research proposals submitted in response to ONR solicitations.
Approximately 25 awards are anticipated, up to five per Science and Technology Department. View lists of 2026 YIP recipients or 2025 YIP recipients. Recent FAS recipients include: Kiyoul Yang (SEAS, 2026), Stephanie Gil (SEAS, 2021), Na Li (SEAS, 2019), Jarad Mason (CCB, 2019).
Questions from FAS or SEAS faculty about this opportunity may be directed to FAS Research Development. |
