Am I eligible to attend the workshop?

Eligible applicants must NOT have received federal funding as an independent investigator in direct support of their research.

• If you are a PI on a grant from a non-NSF federal agency, like the Army Research Office or NIH, but you do not have NSF funding, you are NOT eligible. Due to the large number of applicants expected, funding from any federal source will disqualify you from attending the workshop.

• If you are a PI or a co-PI on an NSF instrument grant (MRI) or REU grant, you ARE eligible. Only receipt of federal funding that can be used for direct support of a faculty member’s research group precludes being selected for the workshop.

• If you participated as a PI or co-PI on a training grant such as a K99, you ARE eligible. If you have not received conventional funding while a faculty member, we will consider your application. If you have questions about a program not mentioned above please contact the organizers.

​​

Applicants must be eligible to submit an NSF CAREER proposal in 2026 and/or 2027.​

• You can find the complete description of who is eligible to apply for an NSF CAREER grant HERE. The current NSF CAREER award solicitation is available HERE.

• If you are currently a postdoctoral fellow and will start a faculty position in the Fall of 2026, you are eligible to apply.

​​

Only one applicant per department is permitted (with some exceptions, see below). ​

• A letter of support from the department chair should certify that the PI is the sole applicant from their department.

​​

Is there a cost to attend the workshop?

The workshop itself is supported by NSF Division of Chemistry under award #2515329, so there is no registration fee and the grant covers meals during the hours of the workshop. Attendees are responsible for travel and lodging costs, as well as meals that do not occur during workshop hours. You are encouraged to speak with your Department Chair or Dean to request support for these costs. A block of rooms at the hotel hosting the website will be available for reservation at a reduced cost. 

​

Is travel support available?

No, unfortunately travel support is not available.

​

Are virtual/hybrid options available?

The informational presentations by NSF Program Officers on Monday morning (see Schedule) will be streamed as a webinar [more information on how to register for this webinar coming soon]. However, the remainder of the program (small group feedback, mock review panel, one-on-one meetings, etc.) will be only available to in-person attendees.

​

My research is interdisciplinary. Am I eligible to attend?

If your research could be supported by any NSF Division of Chemistry program, we will consider your application.

​​​

What should I do if there are two excellent potential nominees in the same department?

In order for mentors and program officers to provide substantive and personalized feedback to participants in the workshop, we regrettably need to limit the number of attendees. Therefore, to streamline the selection process, we are limiting each department to one applicant.​

 

Other early career workshops such those hosted by NIH or ASBMB are also highly effective, and this workshop will be also be held in 2027. Informational presentations by NSF Program Officers on Monday morning will be streamed virtually (see above).

 

If space allows, a second applicant may be considered, with a letter from the department chair expressing a compelling rationale for inclusion in this year's workshop. 

​

Why am I creating a presentation on my project as a participant?

In order to get meaningful feedback from mentors and program managers, we need to know more about your project. We are asking you to prepare a presentation that summarizes the scientific and integrated educational activities associated with your project. In particular, we are asking that your presentation address both NSF review criteria: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts.

​

​

​Additional Questions?

Please reach out to Davita Watkins (watkins.891@osu.edu) and Sarah Tasker (stasker@fandm.edu)

​

​