Featured Opportunities

December 17, 2025

• The Kala Art Institute’s Kala Fellowship is an artist residency for international, national, and local artists producing innovative work in and across multiple media. For over 50 years, Kala Art Institute has provided artists with equipment, time, space, and financial support to develop their ideas and work. The Fellowship is geared towards supporting artists in completing specific projects or bodies of work that benefit from Kala’s specialized equipment. Each year, Kala provides fellowships to artists from various disciplines based on conceptual creativity, originality, and artistic excellence. In 2026, Kala will support 6 artists with a $3000 stipend, 1 month of housing for artists outside of the 9 Bay Area counties, 24/7 access to Kala’s facilities for 1-9 months, a Kala class or workshop, and a culminating group show in the Kala Gallery.
• The American Mathematical Society’s (AMS) Young Scholars Program, supported by the Epsilon Fund, was established to help fund summer mathematics programs in the United States for mathematically talented youth. The program aims to nurture those that are interested in mathematics by aiding summer programs that provide high school students with opportunities to engage with mathematics in a way that builds curiosity and confidence. The AMS Young Scholars Program seeks to fund programs that: 1)Are run over a period of multiple weeks during the summer (it is expected that most, if not all, of the program will take place during the summer months of May–September); 2) Bring in at least 20 high school students with mathematical talent; and 3) Are directed by mathematicians. Within these broad guidelines, many different programs may be considered eligible and are welcome to apply. Programs may focus on any area of mathematics, pure or applied, and be of narrow or broad scope, including programs that may concentrate on problem solving and/or mathematical research. They may also be specifically targeted to one high school year (e.g., 9th graders), or to mathematically talented women or racial minorities. Programs that incorporate undergraduate or graduate students alongside mathematicians in their teaching are particularly encouraged, as well as those that attract members of underrepresented groups.
• The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood is an incubator of promising Research and Development Projects that appear likely to improve the welfare of young children, from infancy through 7 years, in the United States. Welfare is broadly defined to support, acculturation, societal integration and childcare. Grants are only made if a successful project outcome will likely be of significant interest to other professionals, within the grantee’s field of endeavor, and would have a direct benefit and potential national application. The Foundation’s goal is to provide seed money to implement those imaginative proposals that exhibit the greatest chance of improving the lives of young children, on a national scale. Because of the Foundation’s limited funding capability, it seeks to maximize a grant's potential impact. The Foundation provides funding in the following areas: 1) parenting education, 2) early childhood welfare, and 3) early childhood education and play.
• The Department of Health and Human Services, NIH announced that it will release the Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2) NOFO in mid-June 2026. This program supports early-stage investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative research projects with the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important areas relevant to the mission of NIH. Applications in any area within the biomedical sciences are welcome. The NIH Director's New Innovator Award complements other ongoing efforts by NIH and its Institutes and Centers to fund early-stage investigators. The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award is a component of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) Program of the NIH Common Fund.
• The Department of Health and Human Services, NIH announced that it will release the Director’s Pioneer Award (DP1)NOFO in early July 2026. This program supports individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative research projects with the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important areas relevant to the mission of NIH. To be considered pioneering, the proposed research must reflect substantially different scientific directions from those already being pursued in the investigator’s research program or elsewhere. Applications in any area within the biomedical sciences are welcome. The NIH Director’s Pioneer Award is a component of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) Program of the NIH Common Fund.
• The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Translation of Research to Practice (NSF TTP) ensures that the insights and innovations developed through scientific study and experimentation have tangible, positive impacts for the Nation. These impacts include improving the quality of life, promoting economic and job growth, ensuring national security, and maintaining global competitiveness. Indeed, scientific and engineering breakthroughs have the potential to address critical societal challenges in industries such as aerospace, agriculture, communications, education, energy, healthcare, national security, and transportation – but the translation of discoveries and innovations from the laboratory to society often takes many forms including non-linear pathways. The NSF TTP program offers three tracks that represent different starting points or stages in moving discoveries and innovations from the laboratory to practice: 1) NSF TTP-Explore (NSF TTP-E) is a pilot track that is likely to be the first step for researchers seeking to translate their basic research to practice; 2) NSF TTP-Translate (NSF TTP-T) starts with use-inspired research and initial translational activities and further matures the idea(s), iterates and improves the solution(s), and lowers the barrier(s) to effective translation of research from lab to practice; and 3) NSF TTP-Partner (NSF TTP-P) supports translational efforts that demand one or more partnerships for technology development and deployment. In this last track, strategic partnerships with stakeholders beyond U.S. institutions of higher education are essential ingredients for success.
• The Department of Defense, Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) released its White Sands Basic Research Broad Agency Announcement that will remain open until 24 July 2026 or until replaced by a successor BAA or the announcement is cancelled by the Government. Applicants may submit proposals at any time during this period. Applicants may submit white papers prior to submitting full proposals. White papers are encouraged but not required. This step allows applicants the option to ascertain whether their topic will be of interest to NSWC PHD prior to the applicant submitting a full proposal. Areas of interest include: Naval Combat System Readiness; Hypersonic & Suborbital Research and Validation; Directed Energy, Electronic Warfare (EW) and Cybersecurity; Manufacturing & Prototyping; and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Capability.
• The Department of Health and Human Services, NIH’s Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA, R35) provides support for individual investigators for research within the scientific mission of NIGMS via a single grant to achieve the following: 1) Increase the stability of funding for NIGMS-supported investigators, which could enhance their ability to take on ambitious scientific projects and approach problems more creatively; 2) Increase flexibility for investigators to follow important new research directions within the NIGMS mission as opportunities arise, rather than being bound to specific aims proposed in advance of the studies; 3)More widely distribute funding among the nation's highly talented and promising investigators to increase overall scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs; 4) Reduce the time spent by researchers writing and reviewing grant applications, allowing them to spend more time conducting research; 5) Reduce the administrative burden associated with a PD/PI managing multiple NIGMS research grants; and 6) Enable PD(s)/PI(s) to devote more time and energy to mentoring junior scientists in a more stable research environment. This NOFO invites applications from eligible NIGMS-funded investigators and from New Investigators proposing research that is aligned with NIGMS' scientific mission. The NOFO also allows renewal applications from all current MIRA grantees (including those previously funded as Early-Stage Investigators). Current Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs) should apply through the ESI MIRA NOFO, not this NOFO.
• NSF’s Collaboratory to Advance Mathematics Education and Learning (CAMEL) for K-12 initiative aims to advance mathematics learning and education through purposeful collaboration that draws on the interdisciplinary Science of Learning (including neuroscience; cognitive, developmental, and social sciences; computer science; machine learning; engineering; and education research), deep experiences in education practice and teaching, and innovations in the use of data science, AI and technology. Through an agreement with philanthropic partners, including the Walton Family Foundation (WFF), CAMEL consists of two phases. Phase I invites proposals for the creation of new research networks to support the generation of high value datasets that aim to advance math learning and education. These research networks must include researchers who study the basic science of learning, education practitioners, and data scientists. The high value dataset may come from either generating a new dataset or by increasing the value of an existing dataset. Phase II, open only to awardees of Phase I, establishes a “collaboratory,” which is a socio-technological platform that prioritizes community-building and capacity-building to sustain collaborative efforts to advance math learning and education in K-12. Collaboratory to Advance Mathematics Education and Learning (CAMEL) for K-12 initiative aims to advance mathematics learning and education through purposeful collaboration that draws on the interdisciplinary Science of Learning (including neuroscience; cognitive, developmental, and social sciences; computer science; machine learning; engineering; and education research), deep experiences in education practice and teaching, and innovations in the use of data science, AI and technology.
• Through its Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants, Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between thinkers working in largely disconnected fields, who, together, may change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. Between Fall 2023 and Summer 2026, we will dedicate $1 million to supporting small, early-stage grants of $2,500–$50,000 toward achieving this goal. They are primarily, but not exclusively, interested in activities that build connections between basic and early biomedical scientific approaches and ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking, as well as with population-focused fields, including epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and urban planning. Also of interest is work piloting new approaches or interactions aimed at reducing the impact of health-centered activities, such as developing more sustainable systems for healthcare, care delivery, and biomedical research. Another area of interest is preparation for the impacts of extreme weather and other crises that can lead to large-scale disruptions, immediately affecting human health and the delivery of healthcare. Public outreach, climate communication, and education efforts focused on the intersection of climate and health are also appropriate for this call.
• NSF’s Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics (MMS) Program is an interdisciplinary program in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences that supports the development of innovative analytical and statistical methods and models for those sciences. MMS seeks proposals that are methodologically innovative, grounded in theory, and have potential utility for multiple fields within the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. As part of its larger portfolio, the MMS Program partners with a consortium of federal statistical agencies to support research proposals that further the production and use of official statistics.
• NSF’s Developmental Sciences program supports research that addresses developmental processes within the domains of perceptual, cognitive, social, emotional, language, and motor development across the lifespan by working with any appropriate populations for the topics of interest including infants, children, adolescents, adults (including aging populations), and non-human animals. The program also supports research investigating factors that affect developmental change, including family, peers, school, community, culture, media, physical, genetic, and epigenetic influences. The program funds research that incorporates multidisciplinary, multi-method, and/or longitudinal approaches; develops new methods, models, and theories for studying development; and integrates different processes (e.g., memory, emotion, perception, cognition), levels of analysis (e.g., behavioral, social, neural) and time scales. The program funds basic research that advances our understanding of developmental processes and mechanisms; the program does not fund clinical trials and research focused primarily on health outcomes.
• NSF’s Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Core supports research and training on evolutionary and ecological processes acting at the level of populations, species, communities, ecosystems, macrosystems, and biogeographic extents. DEB encourages research that elucidates fundamental principles that identify and explain the unity and diversity of life and its interactions with the environment over space and time. Research may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative studies; synthesis activities; phylogenetic discovery projects; or theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling. Proposals should be submitted to the core clusters (Ecosystem Science, Evolutionary Processes, Population and Community Ecology, and Systematics and Biodiversity Science). DEB also encourages interdisciplinary proposals that cross conceptual boundaries and integrate over levels of biological organization or across multiple spatial and temporal scales.