2026 Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering

About the Program

The Packard Fellows program is for highly creative young faculty researchers in the natural, physical sciences and engineering during their first three years as faculty. According to the Foundation, Packard Fellows are inquisitive, passionate scientists and engineers who take a creative approach to their research, dare to think big, and follow new ideas wherever they lead. The Foundation emphasizes support for innovative PI-led research rather than extensions or components of large-scale, ongoing research programs.

Up to twenty recipients will receive individual grants of $875,000 over five years.

Eligibility

Candidates must be faculty members who are eligible to serve as principal investigators and are in the first three years of their faculty careers: that is, whose initial faculty appointments began no earlier than May 31, 2023, and no later than May 31, 2026. Eligible disciplines: physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science, and all branches of engineering.

Internal Application Process

UCI may submit only two nominations; therefore, interested applicants should (via the UCI Review application system) submit the following by Monday, March 2, 2026:

• Two Page Research Statement consistent with Packard’s Guidelines (12 point font; 1-inch margins; 1400 words max.  If there are relevant figures, images or references, please include these separately on a third page.).
• Brief curriculum vita (up to 3 pages) including a list of publications in which independent contributions are identified.

Letters of Support: Reference letters are heavily weighted in this competition (the advisory committee reads the letters before they read the research description).  This year we are requesting that you provide letters from three referees who are external to UCI. Please see below (or the InfoReady site) for content and writer suggestions. One letter must be from a person who has had no supervisory or collaborative contact with the nominee. Please instruct your letter writers to send the letters to research@uci.edu. They will be kept confidential.

NB: Your letters should be written by the most influential, well-known people who can speak to your skills and research.  This means that you may need to approach people that you do not know very well.  If you met someone at a conference and you believe they were impressed by your work, they could be a good resource.  Use your connections.  Does your PhD or postdoc advisor or another faculty know one of the committee members? Or do they at least know someone who does know a committee member?  Can they facilitate an introduction? For more information about selecting and contacting your letter writers, please contact.suzanneo@uci.edu and the Corporate and Foundations team will be happy to consult with you.

An ad hoc committee will be convened to review the internal applications. The campus must submit nominations by March 13, 2026 and the selected campus nominees will be notified prior to this deadline. The complete application packet is due to Packard on April 20, 2026.

Please review last year’s awardees and the Fellows Advisory Committee members. Program guidelines are available for reference online here.

Contact Suzanne Ou (suzanneo@uci.edu) in Corporate and Foundation Relations for information about Packard’s funding priorities or for assistance with your proposal.

Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to Director of Research Development, Mike Gallo at magallo@uci.edu .