The Office of Nuclear Physics of the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), invites grant applications for support under the Outstanding Junior Investigator (OJI) Program in nuclear physics. The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers. Applications should be from tenure-track faculty who are currently involved in experimental or theoretical nuclear physics research, the U.S. Nuclear Data Program (USNDP) or accelerator physics research related to nuclear physics projects, and should be submitted through a U.S. academic institution. Applicants must be no more than ten (10) years beyond the Ph.D. at the deadline for the application.

Information about submission of applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluation and selection processes and other policies and procedures are specified in 10 CFR Part 605 which can be accessed at: http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/. Additional requirements for applicants to the Office of Nuclear Physics can be found at http://www.sc.doe.gov/np/grants/grants.html.

LETTERS OF INTENT: October 30, 2008, 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time

A Letter-of-Intent (LOI), comprising information on collaborators and a brief summary of the proposed research (one paragraph), is strongly encouraged (but not required) and should be submitted by October 30, 2008, directly to the Office of Nuclear Physics at the e-mail address listed in PART I - FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION. Please include "OJI Letter of Intent" in the subject line.

APPLICATION DUE DATE: December 1, 2008, 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time

Applications must be submitted using Grants.gov, the Funding Opportunity Announcement can be found using the CFDA Number, 81.049 or the Funding Opportunity Announcement number, DE-PS02-08ER08-33. Applicants must follow the instructions and use the forms provided on Grants.gov.

Formal applications submitted in response to this Announcement must be received by December 1, 2008, 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time to permit timely consideration of awards in Fiscal Year 2009. You are encouraged to transmit your application well before the deadline. APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE REVIEWED OR CONSIDERED FOR AWARD.

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The technical contact/program manager for this program is:

Contact: Dr. W. Bradford Tippens, Office of Nuclear Physics
Phone: (301) 903-3904
Fax: (301) 903-3833
E-mail: Brad.Tippens@science.doe.gov

This is the tenth year of an Outstanding Junior Investigator Program in Nuclear Physics. A principal goal of this program is to identify exceptionally talented nuclear physicists early in their academic careers and to facilitate the development of their research programs. The proposed research is expected to make an important contribution to the vigor of the U.S. Nuclear Physics program. Additional information on previous OJI awards can be found at http://www.sc.doe.gov/np/program/oji.html.

Program Funding

It is anticipated that a total of up to $300,000 will be available in Fiscal Year 2009 for funding the program. The DOE expects to make several awards for Fiscal Year 2009 by June 30, 2009, subject to availability of appropriated funds. The actual size and number of awards will be determined by the number of excellent applications and the total amount of funds available for this program. Awards would be for an initial three year term. At the end of the initial term, these grants may be renewed for a final two years, subject to appropriate external peer review at the time of renewal, as long as the recipient's tenure status is unchanged. Three awards were made in Fiscal Year 2008.

DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with preparation or submission of applications. DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the applications submitted.

Merit Review Criteria

Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer review) and will be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria which are listed in descending order of importance codified at 10 CFR 605.10(d):

1. Scientific and/or technical merit of the project;
2. Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach;
3. Competency of applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed resources; and
4. Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget.

The evaluation process will also include program policy factors such as the relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and the agencies' programmatic needs. Note that external peer reviewers are selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the absence of conflict-of-interest issues. Both Federal and non-Federal reviewers may be used, and submission of an application constitutes agreement that this is acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part 605.

Posted on the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site
September 17, 2008.