The Petroleum Research Fund is an endowed fund, managed by the American Chemical Society that supports fundamental research directly related to petroleum or fossil fuels at nonprofit institutions (generally colleges and universities) in the United States and other countries.
ACS Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF) grants are intended as seed money, to enable an investigator to initiate a new research direction. The investigator should not have published or received financial support from another funding agency for the proposed research. Also, proposals that the ACS PRF Committee feels are a logical extension of an investigator’s previous research may be denied as “not a new direction.”
- New Directions Grants: The New Directions (ND) grants program provides funds to scientists and engineers with limited—or even no—preliminary results for a research project they wish to pursue, who intend to use the PRF-driven preliminary results to seek continuation funding from other agencies. ND grants are to be used to illustrate proof of concept/feasibility. Accordingly, they are to be viewed as seed money for new research ventures. Amount: $110,000 over 2 years.
- Doctoral New Investigator Grants: Doctoral New Investigator (DNI) grants provide start-up funding for scientists and engineers in the United States who are within the first three years of their first academic appointment at the level of Assistant Professor or the equivalent. Applicants may have limited or no preliminary results for a research project they wish to pursue, with the intention of using the preliminary results obtained to seek continuation funding from other agencies. The DNI grants are to be used to illustrate proof of principle or concept, to test a hypothesis, or to demonstrate feasibility of an approach. Amount: $110,000 over 2 years
- Undergraduate Research Grants: The Undergraduate Research (UR) grants program provides funding for scientists and engineers with established programs of research at non-doctoral departments. UR grants are 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. Applicants may have limited or no preliminary results for a research project they wish to pursue. Amount: $70,000 over 3 years
- 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. Amount: $55,000 over 2 years
Deadline: March 7, 2025; Sep. 5, 2025