Funder: American Chemical Society
Due Dates: March 12, 2027 (Spring deadline) | October 8, 2027 (Fall deadline)
Funding Amounts: $55,000 over two years; approximately 25 awards annually
Summary: Seed funding for early-career faculty to launch independent, fundamental petroleum-related research involving undergraduate students.
Key Information: Applicants must work in U.S. departments without doctoral programs, within their first five faculty years, subject to approved extensions.
Description
The American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF) offers Undergraduate New Investigator grants to scientists and engineers beginning independent academic research programs. These grants support projects with limited or no preliminary results, helping investigators establish proof of principle and generate data for continuation funding from other agencies. Research must be fundamental rather than applied or methods development, with direct relevance to petroleum or fossil fuels.
The program also advances scientific education through undergraduate research participation, offering compelling experiences that encourage employment in science and engineering or continued graduate study. Projects should produce publishable-quality research and must differ from the investigator’s graduate and postdoctoral work, rather than logically extending it. Supported petroleum science encompasses the chemistry and geology of petroleum, natural gas, coal, shale, tar sands, and related materials.
