Help to Define ARPA-E’s Funding Priorities

At an appearance in Massachusetts recently, the new Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Dr. Arun Majumdar, announced the creation of an ARPA-E Fellows Program to invite the next generation of energy innovators to help define the strategic direction and vision for transformational energy R&D. Majumdar also issued a call for candidates to serve as program managers at the agency with a request that interested parties submit a brief description of a new ARPA-E program concept that they would propose to run.

ARPA-E was authorized in the America COMPETES act to support high-risk, high-reward transformational research to develop innovative energy technologies, and it was funded initially with $400-million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The agency will focus on the full cycle of developing new energy technologies, including scientific research, technology prototyping and development, and commercialization.

ASPB encourages plant scientists to take advantage of the opportunities announced by Director Majumdar and, thereby, to increase the likelihood that plant processes and energy-related plant biology research will feature prominently in ARPA-E’s emerging funding portfolio.

• The new ARPA-E Fellows program will have two classes – Senior Fellows and Fellows. 
• Senior Fellows are expected to have a PhD and three or more years of work experience in energy innovation.
• Fellows will be recent PHDs, postdoctoral researchers, and recent graduates with fewer than three years of work experience.
• The ARPA-E Fellows are expected to have strong technical backgrounds and deep expertise in at least one energy technology field.
• The Fellows will be selected on a competitive basis.
• The fellowships will be for no more than two years, during which Fellows will be full-time employees of the Federal government and will receive competitive salaries.
• Candidates for program management positions at ARPA-E must have a PhD degree in a scientific or engineering field, a minimum of six to eight years of relevant experience in energy technology, and – preferably – experience in technology transfer.

More details on both Fellowship types and the program manager positions are available on the ARPA-E website. To apply for the Fellows programs, candidates should submit to ARPA-E-jobs@hq.doe.gov an updated CV, a one-page statement of interest describing their relevant experience and expertise, and a description of the energy topic/project in which they would have the strongest interest in working in as an ARPA-E Fellow.

To apply for program manager positions, candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and a brief preliminary description of a new ARPA-E program concept that they would propose to run to:  ARPA-E-jobs@hq.doe.gov.

There is no deadline for the submission of these materials; the opportunity is open until otherwise specified by ARPA-E.