Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering
The Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering program invests in future leaders who have the freedom to take risks, explore new frontiers in their fields of study, and follow uncharted paths that may lead to groundbreaking discoveries. Every year, the Foundation invites 50 universities to nominate two early career professors each from their institutions. Twenty recipients will receive individual grants of $875,000 distributed over five years.
Candidates must be faculty members who are eligible to serve as principal investigators engaged in research in the natural and physical sciences or engineering and must be within the first three years of their faculty careers. Disciplines that will be considered include physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science, and all branches of engineering. Candidates engaged in research in the social sciences will not be considered.
Recognizing that certain areas of contemporary science and engineering already have access to relatively generous funding (for example, clinical research, research associated with the design and construction of large national facilities such as accelerators and space stations, and applied research of direct relevance to national security), the Packard Fellowships are directed to other, less generously supported fields.
The Fellowship provides support for highly creative researchers early in their careers; faculty members who are well-established and well‐funded are less likely to receive the award. The Foundation emphasizes support for innovative individual research that involves the Fellows, their students, and junior colleagues, rather than extensions or components of large-scale, ongoing research programs.
ELIGIBILITY
Candidates must be faculty members in the first three years of their faculty careers, that is, whose initial faculty appointments began no earlier than May 31, 2022, and no later than May 31, 2025.
Candidates must be faculty members in the first three years of their faculty careers, that is, whose initial faculty appointments began no earlier than May 31, 2022, and no later than May 31, 2025.
LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PROPOSALS PER ORGANIZATION
Two nominations per institution are allowed.
Two nominations per institution are allowed.
KEY DATES
Internal proposal due: January 27, 2025
Internal proposal due: January 27, 2025
Sponsor proposal due: April 20, 2025
Based on prior years, we anticipate a competition and are therefore not requesting letters of intent prior to internal proposals. Please carefully verify that you are eligible to apply. The Foundation will host “Nomination Office Hours” for faculty who may have any questions about their eligibility. Office hours are optional and do not have any influence in the review process. See here to sign up for an appointment.
INTERNAL PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
Proposals should be prepared with 1-inch margins and 12-point font size, and are required to contain the following components:
1. Cover page with a descriptive title, your name, departmental affiliation, and date of appointment to the tenure track (1 page limit).
2. Introduction (ONLY for applicants who previously submitted an internal proposal to this program) that includes the following components (0.5 page limit):
a. How your research proposal differs from your previous submission(s).
b. How your application as a whole differs from your previous submission(s) (i.e., publications, honors, awards, accomplishments, etc.).
3. Lay summary that clearly articulates your proposal and its impact to colleagues outside your field (0.5 page limit). NOTE: This summary is important for making your proposal accessible to Northwestern’s limited submission advisory committee which is comprised of faculty with a diverse set of expertise.
4. Research Statement that describes why the research is important, outlines the general goals for the next five years, and indicates, in general, how funds will be used (2 pages limit).
5. Biosketch that includes (but not limited to): educational background; professional positions held; honors and awards; current external research support (sponsor, award number, amount awarded, dates, proposal title, and role); and publications (5 pages limit).
6. Names of 3 references: three people outside of NU who are personally familiar with your work and creative ability. At least one must be a person who has had no supervisory or collaborative contact with you. For each reference, indicate your relationship to them as well as their title, affiliation, and most notable awards/honors.
SUBMITTING THE INTERNAL PROPOSAL
Prepare your proposal as a SINGLE PDF FILE. It should be named ”LastName-FirstInitial-PACKARD-2025," replacing "LastName" with your last name and "FirstInitial" with your first initial.
CONTACT AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For questions about this funding opportunity, please contact: Catherine Cotter, Director, Foundation Relations
For questions about the limited submission process, please contact: Katya Klyachko, Director, Research Development