This is a special Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO) sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), which will hereafter generally be referred to as “we”, “us”, “our”, or “AFOSR.” The Fiscal Year 2027 Air Force Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) intends to support individual early career scientists and engineers who have received their Ph.D. or equivalent degrees by 01 April 2019 or later showing exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. The program objective is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering; enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators; and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force and Space Force mission and related challenges in science and engineering. Individual awards are made to U.S. institutions of higher education, industrial laboratories, for- profit, or non-profit research organizations where the principal investigator (PI) is employed on a full-time basis and holds a regular, non-contractor position. A YIP PI must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident. Researchers working at a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), or a Department of War (DoW) Laboratory are not eligible for this competition. YIP awards are funded up to $150,000 per year for three years, for a total of $450,000. No single year may exceed $150,000. Please review the remainder of this announcement for additional information. Under this competition, an anticipated thirty-seven (37) traditionally funded YIPs and three (3) YIPs funded in partnership with the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) in the Quantum Information Sciences research discipline may be awarded. There may be potential for an additional 37 YIPs funded from other AFOSR research funding. All actions are based on the availability of funds. Proposers are encouraged to confer with the designated AFOSR Program Officer(s) prior to submitting a full proposal. We will evaluate proposals using an internal review panel. AFOSR reserves the right to select and fund all, some, or none of the proposals from any of the topics below. AFOSR provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and budget proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this NOFO will not be returned. It is the policy of AFOSR to treat all white papers and proposals submitted under this NOFO as sensitive competitive informati
Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Young Investigator Program (YIP)
Air Force Office of Scientific Research lists this opportunity for nonprofit applicant type listed. Review the coded eligibility, award range, source synopsis, and official notice before deciding whether to apply.
Deadline
December 4, 2026
44 days remaining
Award range
$150,000–$450,000
$4,500,000 estimated program funding
Applicant signal
Nonprofit applicant type listed
the official notice controls eligibility
- 06 — Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- 12 — 501(c)(3) nonprofits other than institutions of higher education
- 13 — Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status other than institutions of higher education
- 20 — Private institutions of higher education
- 22 — For-profit organizations other than small businesses
These are high-level Grants.gov codes. Additional eligibility text, geographic restrictions, and program-specific rules in the official notice can narrow them.
- Confirm entity eligibility in the full Notice of Funding Opportunity.
- Check SAM.gov and Grants.gov registration requirements and timing.
- Read every attachment for matching, cost-share, geography, and award conditions.
- Verify the exact deadline time and any agency-specific submission portal.
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Source: Grants.gov daily XML extract, 2026-10-21 extract. This page reproduces selected public listing fields for research convenience. The official Notice of Funding Opportunity and agency instructions control. This product uses the Grants.gov API but is not endorsed or certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.