[American Chemical Society](https://www.acs.org)

March 6, 2026 | October 9, 2026

$55,000 over 2 years; no indirect/overhead costs allowed; at least 40% of budget for student support.

Supports new faculty at undergraduate institutions to launch fundamental petroleum-related research and provide undergraduates with hands-on scientific experience.

For Assistant Professors in non-doctoral U.S. departments within 5 years of first appointment only.

--- ## Description This program provides seed funding to early-career faculty at U.S. undergraduate institutions (departments without doctoral programs) to initiate fundamental research in the petroleum field or related pure sciences. The aim is to enable promising new investigators to generate preliminary data for future funding applications while engaging undergraduate students in high-quality research experiences. Projects must represent a new research direction for the principal investigator and cannot be a logical extension of prior graduate or postdoctoral work. --- ## Due Dates - March 6, 2026: Full proposal submission deadline (for consideration at the October 2026 ACS PRF Committee Meeting) — proposals due by 5:00 pm ET - October 9, 2026: Fall 2026 submission window closes for UNI proposals (submission window: September 14, 2026 to October 9, 2026; proposals considered at the May 2027 ACS PRF Committee Meeting) --- ## Funding Amount - Total award: $55,000 over a two-year period. - No institutional overhead or indirect costs permitted. - At least 40% of the budget must directly support undergraduate (and optionally M.S.) students. - PI summer salary capped at $8,000 per year (max $16,000 total, including fringe). - Travel (excluding field work): max $2,000 per year ($4,000 total). - Publication costs: up to $2,000 for the project. - Capital equipment requests are discouraged but up to $5,000 may be allowed with justification. --- ## Eligibility - PI must be a regularly appointed faculty member (Assistant Professor or equivalent) in a U.S. department that does **not** offer doctoral degrees. - Within the first five years of their first academic appointment as Assistant Professor (exceptions allowed for officially approved tenure-clock extensions; must provide institutional letter). - Must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. (may apply before degree is awarded). - Must be eligible under institutional policy to serve as PI and as the sole official supervisor of undergraduate students. - Appointment must extend through the full grant period. - No co-PI allowed, but collaborators are permitted. - May only have one active ACS PRF grant or proposal under consideration at any time. - New investigators are limited to three UNI applications considered and/or one UNI grant funded in their career. --- ## Application Process 1. **Pre-Registration:** Register for the PRF Portal ([instructions here](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/applicants/salesforce-registration-help.html)). 2. **Eligibility Quiz:** Complete the online eligibility quiz in the PRF Portal. 3. **Proposal Preparation:** Prepare all required materials, including: - Web form with PI/institutional info, title, abstract (≤250 words), petroleum relevance statement (≤100 words), safety statement, budget and justification, suggested reviewers (≥6), and required institutional certifications. - Technical proposal (≤4,000 words, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins; includes narrative, references, figures, tables). - Signed cover and budget pages (PI and institutional representative). - Institutional letter for tenure-clock extension (if applicable). 4. **Submission:** Upload all materials and obtain DocuSign electronic signatures via the PRF Portal. Validate and submit the application before the deadline. No late submissions or post-deadline changes allowed. 5. **Review:** Proposals are reviewed for completeness, eligibility, new research direction, fundamental nature, petroleum relevance, and student impact. For detailed instructions, see the [UNI Application Instructions (PDF)](https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/funding/grants/prf/programs/uni/uni-instructions-oct-2022.pdf) and [Eligibility, Terms, and Conditions (PDF)](https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/funding/grants/prf/programs/uni/uni-etc-07252024.pdf). --- ## Additional Information - Research must be fundamental (not applied) and directly relevant to petroleum, fossil fuels, or related pure sciences. - Proposals that are incremental extensions of prior work or overlap with currently funded projects are not eligible. - A PI may only submit one proposal per PRF Committee meeting. - Patents resulting from grant-funded research must be dedicated to the public, royalty-free. - Annual and final technical/financial reports are required. --- ## External Links - [Program Page: Undergraduate New Investigator Grants](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/programs/undergraduate-new-investigator-grants.html) - [UNI Application Instructions (PDF)](https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/funding/grants/prf/programs/uni/uni-instructions-oct-2022.pdf) - [Eligibility, Terms, and Conditions (PDF)](https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/funding/grants/prf/programs/uni/uni-etc-07252024.pdf) - [Salesforce PRF Portal Registration Help](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/applicants/salesforce-registration-help.html) - [Proposal Submission Overview](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/applicants/salesforce-proposal-submission-help.html) - [UNI & UR FAQ](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/programs/uni-ur-faq.html) - [PRF Safety Requirements](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/applicants/safety-requirements.html) --- ## Contact Information | Purpose | Contact | |-----------------------------|-------------------------------------| | General ACS PRF Support | [help@services.acs.org](mailto:help@services.acs.org) | | PRF Portal Technical Support| [PRFSupport@acs.org](mailto:PRFSupport@acs.org) | | Program Manager (by topic) | See [program officers list](https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/petroleum-research-fund/programs/undergraduate-new-investigator-grants.html) | | ACS PRF Main Phone | +1 800-227-5558 | | ACS PRF Main Address | 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA | For specific scientific questions, contact the relevant PRF Program Manager listed on the program page.

Undergraduate New Investigator (UNI) Grants

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