Today the Office of Naval Research (ONR) celebrates the forty first yr of its Young Investigator Program (YIP) by honoring the Class of 2026 YIP awardees.
Approximately $17 million in funding will likely be shared by 23 college professors to conduct revolutionary scientific analysis addressing essential naval warfighter challenges.
“In order for ONR to enhance the capabilities of the Sailors and Marines who depend on us, we must partner with the brightest scientists and engineers conducting the most innovative scientific and technology research,” stated Chief of Naval Research Dr. Rachel Riley. “The Young Investigator Program is a vital component of this mission, and I am honored to announce the recipients for 2026.”
The ONR YIP is a extremely aggressive program that pulls excellent early-profession teachers in science, expertise, engineering and arithmetic to suggest revolutionary options to make sure the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps preserve warfighter superiority. Prior educational accomplishments and potential for vital scientific breakthroughs are key components of the analysis standards.
The 2026 YIP awardees had been chosen from almost 330 candidates — all of whom are school and college tenure-monitor or equal college and who obtained a Ph.D. on or after Jan. 1, 2018.
Awardees signify 22 educational establishments in 11 states, supporting a broad vary of naval-related analysis subjects, together with coastal forecasting, machine studying, additive manufacturing, autonomous operations, superior sensors, dexterous robotics, hypersonics, resolution superiority, ocean acoustics, ultrafast lasers and superior composites.
The YIP awards help postdoctoral and graduate scholar stipends and scholarships, the acquisition of laboratory tools and different bills essential to the deliberate analysis. Typical grants are $750,000 over a 3-yr interval.
Established in 1985, the ONR YIP is without doubt one of the nation’s oldest and most selective primary-analysis, early-profession awards in science and expertise. Its objective is to fund tenure-monitor educational researchers, or equal, whose scientific pursuits present excellent promise for supporting the Department of War, whereas additionally selling their skilled improvement.
View the record of 2026 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator awardees at https://www.onr.navy.mil/2026-young-investigators.