Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards

Pitt Nomination Limit: 2
Website: https://www.orau.org/partnerships/grant-programs/powe/index.html
Sponsor: Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)
Pitt Internal Deadline: TBD
Sponsor Deadline: January 6, 2027
Award Amount: $5,000 from ORAU, with a required minimum $5,000 match from Pitt ($10,000 total)
Pitt Select Funder: No

About the Program

The Powe Awards provide seed funding to help junior faculty build a research track record that leads to larger external funding.

Research must fall within one of these seven areas:

• Engineering and Applied Science
• Life Sciences
• Mathematics/Computer Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Policy, Management, or Education (not required to be STEM-focused)
• Critical Mineral Constraints on SMR Deployment Capacity in the U.S.
• Responsible AI in STEM Education Policy

Funding Information

$5,000 from ORAU, matched by at least $5,000 from Pitt, for a total of at least $10,000. Funds may cover faculty summer salary, graduate student salary, travel, equipment, or other research-related assistance. No overhead or indirect costs are allowed on either the ORAU award or the Pitt match. Funding is one year (July 1–June 30), with awards announced in early June.

Eligibility

• Full-time assistant professor on the tenure track, within two years of that appointment at Pitt specifically — time spent on tenure track at a previous institution doesn't count toward or against this window
• No U.S. citizenship requirement
• Part-time appointments and non-tenure-track titles (including "Research Assistant Professor") are not eligible
• Documented tenure-clock delays (medical or other extenuating circumstances) are honored — the two-year window is measured against the adjusted clock, not the original start date
• Faculty previously declined for a Powe Award may be nominated again; worth reviewing prior reviewer feedback before resubmitting

What the Sponsor Will Not Fund

• Overhead or indirect costs, on either the ORAU funds or Pitt's matching funds
• Applicants outside the two-year tenure-track window (absent a documented clock delay)
• Part-time or non-tenure-track faculty

Internal Selection Process

Pitt must nominate faculty for this opportunity. If you are interested in being considered as a nominee, please see the limited submission guidelines before submitting a pre-application to InfoReady. 

1. Interested investigators should submit the following materials via InfoReady by: TBA
   • An abbreviated CV (five pages max)
   • TBA
2. Internal applicants will be peer-reviewed on the following criteria:
   • Scientific/technical merit
   • Proposed method/approach
   • Applicant's research performance competence, and adequacy of facilities/resources to conduct the work
   • Likelihood the research leads to fundable research and/or publishable work
   • Overall quality of the application

Key Dates