ACS Petroleum Research Fund - New Directions Grants

Eligibility

Regularly-appointed faculty members at academic institutions in countries where ACS PRF can administer grants are eligible. Certain other long-term scientific appointments may be eligible. In addition, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• The non-profit institution submitting the ND proposal must certify that each individual listed as a principal investigator on the cover page qualifies as a principal investigator under the institution’s Principal Investigator policies.
• In view of the long-standing policy of The ACS Petroleum Research Fund to give priority to support of students (undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral), each principal investigator (lead and co-PI) must be eligible to serve as the formal, official supervisor of graduate students in graduate degree programs. Emeritus faculty who may supervise post-doctoral fellows are also eligible to apply.
• The terms of appointment of the principal investigator (and, if appropriate, the co-PI) must promise reasonable continuity of service through the life of the grant.

Generally, the above criteria are automatically met by tenured or tenure-track principal investigators. If you or the co-PI are not tenure-track, attach a brief statement to your application describing your appointment and include a Department Chair’s letter affirming that you meet all three of the eligibility criteria cited above. Read more about Eligibility, Terms, and Conditions for ND Grants.

Summary

Program Goals

The goals of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund are:

• To support fundamental research in the petroleum field, and
• To develop the next generation of engineers and scientists through support of advanced scientific education.

The New Directions Grants Program aims to stimulate a new direction of research for established faculty, and to support the careers of their student scientists and engineers.

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, and 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.

A "new research direction" is something different from previous research performed by the lead principal investigator (lead PI). But, it may involve a field of science or engineering in which others are already working. Therefore, the proposed research should not be in the same direction as—or overlap with—current projects in the lead PI’s research group. Excluded from consideration will be

• Lead PIs who have had previous support or current funding for the project, and
• Proposals presenting ideas that are a logical extension of ongoing research from the lead PI’s laboratory.

Preliminary results and/or communications are not required.

One co-principal investigator (co-PI) is permitted on an ND grant proposal. The proposed research does not have to be a new direction of research for the co-PI. However, the co-PI must meet all other eligibility criteria as if he/she were the lead PI, and provide the same information requested of the lead PI in the application. The lead PI (who should be denoted as such) and his/her institution (designated as the grantee institution) would subcontract the co-PI through the co-PI’s institution. Any number of collaborators may participate on the project. However, no funds from the ND grant may be used to support the collaborators or their respective students.

Award Information

• Amount: $125,000 over 2 years.
• Estimated number of grants awarded: ~75 each year.

Nature and Scope of the Research

ACS PRF Research Grants are made to non-profit institutions for regularly-appointed scientists whose research may be sponsored in accordance with the ACS PRF Transfer Agreement:

The recipient (ACS) shall use all funds exclusively for advanced scientific education and fundamental research in the ‘petroleum field,’ which may include any field of pure science which in the judgment of (ACS) may afford a basis for subsequent research directly connected with the petroleum field.

Note that fundamental research is required as opposed to applied research or methods development. When submitting an application, you will be asked to select a scientific discipline that PRF supports.

The PRF New Directions grant program is not a source of funding for ongoing, extant research projects. Rather, it is designed as a source of funds for new concepts and new projects for the lead PI and his/her research group. The lead principal investigator must demonstrate that this is an entirely new research direction from what the lead principal investigator has done to date.  Proposals deemed not to be a “new direction of research” will be denied without external review, or may be rejected by the PRF Committee. In addition, poorly crafted proposals that are deemed to be “noncompetitive” will be denied without external review.

All proposals will undergo a compliance check for the following required elements:

• Completeness and correctness of the application;
• Fundamental nature of the research topic;
• Relevance to petroleum or fossil fuels; and
• Extent to which the proposed research is a new direction for the principal investigator.

Overhead

Not Applicable. No overhead costs may be charged, which includes secretarial and/or administrative salaries. Funds may not be used to support laboratory technicians, contractors, consultants, or visiting faculty.

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Registration Key Steps

Acess to the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Portal to submit an application requires: 1) ACS User ID, and 2) PRF Portal Registration.  While there are no specific deadlines for complete these requirements, applicants must complete their Registration well in advance of the competition deadline. Refer to the Registration Key Steps guide for instructions.

Additional Resources

PRF Pre-Registration Form

Proposal Submission: PRF Portal Login

ND Application Instructions

Proposal Submission Overview

Proposal Submission FAQ