Saptaparna Bhattacharya
Funding opportunities

Current funding opportunities

A curated list of funding opportunities relevant to the group's program — SMEFT and multiboson physics, event generators and GPU computing, ML for HEP, and future colliders — from DOE, NSF, and private foundations — plus awards, summer schools, and travel support for students and postdocs — sorted by how quickly the eligibility window closes after starting a faculty position. Colors indicate the funder. Links go to the live pages; always confirm deadlines there. Last reviewed: September 2026.

No opportunities match that search.

Years 1–3 of a faculty appointment

Packard Foundation Annual · institutional nomination
Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering
$875,000 over five years for faculty within the first three years of their careers; 20 fellows chosen annually from 50 invited institutions, each nominating internally by mid-March. Two caveats: SMU must hold an invitation for the cycle, and Packard excludes research involving large national facilities such as accelerators.
Research Corporation (RCSA) Annual · proposals due Jul 1
Cottrell Scholar Award
$120,000 over three years for integrated research and teaching in physics, astronomy, or chemistry. A single-year window keyed to the start of the first tenure-track appointment — roughly the third year (the 2026 cycle covered 2023 starts) — so the year band determines exactly one eligible cycle.

Pre-tenure

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Nominations due Sep 15, 2026
Sloan Research Fellowship
$75,000 over two years for tenure-track faculty who are untenured as of the nomination deadline, in physics and six other fields. Department-nominated (letter from chair or senior colleague); the 2027 cycle closes September 15, 2026.
NSF Annual · summer deadline
CAREER: Faculty Early Career Development
NSF's flagship early-career award integrating research and education, open to untenured assistant professors — no fixed year cap, but the clock stops at tenure. Annual cycle with deadlines in late July.

Within 6 years of the first appointment

Universities Research Association Annual · spring nominations
URA Early Career Award
$10,000 honorarium recognizing outstanding work at or with Fermilab — HEP, cosmology, or accelerator science — within six years of first tenure-track appointment (career breaks excluded). Nominations for the 2026 cycle closed in April; the next round opens in spring.

Within 10 years of the Ph.D.

DOE Office of Science Annual · pre-apps in fall
Early Career Research Program
Five-year single-PI awards for researchers within ten years of their Ph.D. FY 2027 cycle pre-applications are typically due in the fall — relevant for group members approaching independence.

Any career stage

Universities Research Association Fall round due Aug 31, 2026
URA Visiting Scholars Program
Up to $50,000 supporting faculty, postdocs, and students from URA member institutions for research residencies at Fermilab — travel and lodging, or salary support for extended stays. Two rounds per year; the fall 2026 round closes August 31 at 6 pm EDT.
Fermilab LPC Rolling
LPC Guests & Visitors Program
Short-term travel support for CMS members — students through faculty — to visit the LHC Physics Center for collaborative work, talks, or hands-on training. Requests are considered on a rolling basis.
Simons Foundation Rolling LOI
Targeted Grants in Mathematics & Physical Sciences
Funding for high-risk projects of exceptional promise in the physical sciences, with no fixed budget cap or deadline — letters of intent are accepted on a rolling basis.
Simons Foundation Annual · institutional nomination
Simons Investigators in Physics
Long-term support (roughly $100,000 per year for five years, renewable) for outstanding theoretical scientists, nominated by their institutions each fall. Theory-leaning — most relevant for phenomenology-oriented collaborators.
DOE Office of Science Open now · rolling
FY 2026 Open Call (DE-FOA-0003600)
The annual continuation solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program — the standing route for HEP research proposals across all frontiers. Pre-applications accepted on a rolling basis.
DOE Genesis Mission Quarterly windows
Genesis Open Models Initiative
Rolling calls for pretraining datasets, fine-tuning data/evaluations, and open-weight scientific models. The BEACON SMEFT corpus targets these windows; next cycle expected ~November 2026.
DOE HEP Reference
All HEP funding opportunities
The HEP office's live index of open FOAs, lab announcements, and program-specific calls — the page to check when this snapshot ages.
NSF MPS Accepted anytime
MPS Physics Research Programs (NSF 26-523)
The new consolidated solicitation for the Division of Physics — replacing the individual PHY program solicitations, with proposals accepted at any time as of August 2026. The route for EPP-Experiment proposals.
NSF PHY Program page
Elementary Particle Physics — Experiment
The EPP-Experiment program page: scope, contacts, and current funding routes for LHC and future-collider experimental research.

Students & postdocs

Awards, travel support, and residencies for group members — including international opportunities through the COMETA COST Action, the European multiboson network the group is active in. The URA Visiting Scholars Program above is also open to students and postdocs.

CSTQ / Templeton Foundation 3rd cohort · due Oct 18, 2026
Enrico Fermi Fellowships for Doctoral Students
Up to €105,000 per year for one to two years, for PhD students anywhere in the world who want to work across both theory and experiment on fundamental questions — salary, travel allowance, research funds for the supervisor, plus mentoring and a fellows' network. Start dates are flexible between late April 2027 and January 2028. The first two cohorts funded 11 fellows each; applications close October 18, 2026 at 23:59 CET. Questions: eff@cstq.org.
COMETA COST Action 2026 edition: Aug 25 – Sep 4
COMETA School on Multiboson Physics
A ten-day training school for PhD students and early postdocs covering multiboson theory, polarization, EFT, and hands-on experimental techniques — squarely on the group's physics. The 2026 edition is running now; watch the COMETA site for the next edition and its application window.
COMETA COST Action Periodic calls
COMETA travel grants & research visits
Travel grants, workshops, and short-term scientific missions across the European multiboson network. COST travel funding primarily supports Europe-affiliated members, but COMETA membership includes US researchers and its meetings are open — the group's ties (talks at COMETA workshops) make visits and speaking slots easy to arrange.
Stanford University 2027 cohort · due Oct 16, 2026
Stanford Science Fellows
A three-year independent postdoctoral fellowship for fundamental experimental or theoretical research in any natural science — experimental physics and theory & simulation included, with SLAC among the host units. $98,000 annual stipend plus benefits and up to $10,000 a year for research and professional development. Eligible if the PhD was awarded within the last three years at the start of the fellowship (typically September 1). CV, cover letter, 2-page career-goals and 2-page research statements, and three letters via Academic Jobs Online; the 2027 cycle closes October 16, 2026 at 11:59 pm EDT.
Universities Research Association Annual · spring nominations
URA Tollestrup Award for Postdoctoral Research
$10,000 honorarium for outstanding postdoctoral work performed in conjunction with a Fermilab experiment, accelerator project, or the theory/astrophysics groups — within six years of the Ph.D., non-tenure-track. The 2026 cycle closed in April; the next opens in spring.
Universities Research Association Annual · spring nominations
URA Doctoral Thesis Award
$10,000 for the year's outstanding Ph.D. thesis conducted at or in collaboration with Fermilab, judged on clarity, originality, and physics content. Theses defended in the prior calendar year qualify; nominations due each spring.
Fermilab LPC Annual · ~mid-Sep deadline
Meenakshi Narain Graduate Scholars at the LPC
A funded year (renewable to two) at the LHC Physics Center for USCMS PhD candidates to pursue thesis research at Fermilab with a resident mentor. Requires candidacy, a defined thesis project, and three letters; applications via AcademicJobsOnline each fall.
Fermilab LPC Annual · fall applications
LPC Distinguished Researcher Program
Fellowships bringing CMS researchers — postdocs through faculty — into residence at the LPC with travel support and a platform for leadership roles. Applications run each fall for the following calendar year.
US ATLAS Ongoing
US ATLAS Center (ATC) at Brookhaven
The ATLAS counterpart to the LPC: residencies, analysis support, and training at BNL for US ATLAS members — a natural base for students and postdocs to spend focused analysis time with resident experts. Arrangements are made directly with the ATC rather than through a fixed call.
NSF Physics apps due Oct 23, 2026
Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
$37,000 annual stipend plus $16,000 cost-of-education for research-based graduate study. For seniors, recent graduates, and first-year grad students (second-years ineligible); the physics/astronomy panel deadline is October 23, 2026, with reference letters due October 16.
IRIS-HEP Annual · spring applications
IRIS-HEP Fellows Program
Funded 2–4 month fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students to build research-software skills with a mentor on HEP software projects — a strong match for the group's ML and generator work. Summer applications get priority review in late March.
Hertz Foundation Annual · ~late Oct deadline
Hertz Fellowship
Five years of flexible graduate funding in the applied physical sciences for seniors and first-year graduate students — among the most generous and least restrictive PhD fellowships. Applications close in late October each year.
DOE / Krell Institute Annual · apps due mid-Jan
Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF)
Four years of full support for PhD students using high-performance computing in their research — squarely relevant to GPU event generators and ML surrogates — including a 12-week practicum at a DOE lab. Applications due mid-January.
L'Oréal USA / AAAS Annual cycle
For Women in Science Fellowship
$60,000 grants for five women postdoctoral scientists each year, usable flexibly for research, travel, or dependent care. Applications run annually — check the AAAS page for the current window.
American Physical Society Annual · due Jun 1
M. Hildred Blewett Fellowship
Up to $45,000 for one year to support physicists — primarily women — returning to research after a career interruption; covers salary, travel, equipment, and dependent care. Requires an institutional affiliation; applications due June 1 annually.
DOE Office of Science Two cycles · ~May & Nov
Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Awards
Supplemental awards placing PhD candidates at a DOE national lab for 3–12 months of thesis research with a lab collaborator — the standard route for an extended Fermilab or Argonne stint. Two calls per year, typically closing in early May and early November.

Summer schools & training

Intensive schools worth planning a year around — most run once a year with applications three to four months ahead, and several fund travel for early-career participants.

ML4FP Annual · early June
Machine Learning for Fundamental Physics School
A one-week hands-on school on ML for experimental particle and nuclear physics — the 2026 edition ran June 1–5 at Georgia Tech with an April 3 application deadline and a nominal $40 fee. Domestic travel and lodging are covered for US ATLAS early-career researchers through the ATC, and by DOE/ORNL for others.
MCnet Annual · late May / June
MCnet Summer School on Event Generators
The school on Monte Carlo event generators — parton showers, matching, hadronization, and the tools themselves — for advanced PhD students and early postdocs. The 2026 edition was at CERN, May 31–June 5, with applications due April 15, a CHF 100 fee, and bursaries available on a supervisor's letter. Directly on the group's generator program.
CTEQ Every 2–3 years
CTEQ School on QCD and Electroweak Phenomenology
The classic ten-day school on perturbative QCD, PDFs, and electroweak phenomenology for graduate students and postdocs in both theory and experiment. Held roughly every two to three years (most recently August 2024 as a WE-Heraeus school); the CTEQ meta-page has long been maintained at SMU. Watch the CTEQ site for the next announcement.
Princeton / IRIS-HEP Annual · mid-July
CoDaS-HEP: Computational & Data Science for HEP
A one-week school at Princeton on the software side of the field — parallel programming, vectorization, GPUs, ML tooling, and modern analysis systems. The 2026 school ran July 13–17 with applications due June 9; travel support is offered to accepted applicants.
CERN & Fermilab Annual · August
Hadron Collider Physics Summer School (HCPSS)
The flagship two-week school for senior PhD students and young postdocs in collider experiment and phenomenology, alternating between CERN and Fermilab each August. Applications typically open in the spring; the host lab's year determines where you'll spend it.
Fermilab LPC Annual · January
CMS Data Analysis School (CMSDAS)
A week at the LPC that takes new CMS members from pre-exercises to a complete physics analysis in small teams — the fastest way for a first-year student to become useful in the collaboration. Held each January; sign-ups open in late fall.
CU Boulder Annual · June
TASI: Theoretical Advanced Study Institute
Four weeks of lectures in Boulder for advanced theory graduate students — the 2026 theme was “Exploring Fundamental Physics from Colliders to the Cosmos,” June 1–26, applications due March 2. Subsidized dorm lodging and meals. The right school for a phenomenology-leaning student.
SLAC Annual · August
SLAC Summer Institute (SSI)
A themed one-week institute for senior graduate students and postdocs, with lectures, participant projects, and contributed talks. SSI 2026 (August 10–14) was on quantum sensors; each year's topic differs, so check whether the theme matches before applying. Registration opens in April.

Undergraduates

DOE Office of Science Spring '27 apps due Sep 30, 2026
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
Paid research internships at DOE national labs — a 10-week summer or a full semester, mentored by lab scientists. Applications for the spring 2027 term close September 30, 2026; the summer term application follows in winter.
US CMS Annual · ~winter apps
PURSUE: US CMS Undergraduate Internship
A paid 10-week summer research experience inside the CMS collaboration — analysis, detector, and software projects at Fermilab and USCMS universities. Applications open in the winter for the following summer; a natural on-ramp into the group's physics.
Goldwater Foundation Annual · campus nomination
Barry Goldwater Scholarship
The premier undergraduate award for sophomores and juniors headed toward research careers in the natural sciences. No direct applications — SMU must nominate, with the national deadline the last Friday of January and campus deadlines well before; students should contact SMU's campus representative in the fall.
NSF Site-specific deadlines
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) — Physics
Funded summer research placements at physics REU sites nationwide, including several in particle physics and at collider-affiliated groups. Each site sets its own deadline, mostly January–February for the following summer.

Awards & honors — undergraduates

Recognition rather than research funding: prizes, named awards, and elections. Use the Awards chip to see all of them at once, or combine it with a career-stage chip. Student awards already listed above — URA Doctoral Thesis and Tollestrup — are not repeated.

APS Texas–Arkansas–Oklahoma Section Annual · due Oct 2, 2026
Robert S. Hyer Research Award
$1,000 and a plaque for outstanding physics research done by an undergraduate and presented at a section meeting within the past two years (the student must have been a section member when presenting). Nomination letter, up to three supporting letters, CV and papers; 2026 nominations close October 2, 2026. Normally not given to the same institution two years running. SMU students and advisors have won it several times under the section's former name, the Texas Section of the APS.
American Physical Society Annual · early June
LeRoy Apker Award
The APS's top undergraduate research award: $5,000 to the student and $5,000 to the physics department for undergraduate research, plus an invited APS talk. Two awards a year — one for a PhD-granting institution such as SMU — for students enrolled as undergraduates within the 12 months before the deadline. The last posted deadline was June 3, 2025; confirm the next cycle on the APS page.
Society of Physics Students (AIP) Annual · due Mar 15
SPS Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research
Up to $2,000 to present the work at a meeting, plus $500 honoraria each to the student and the SPS chapter. Open to SPS national members who are undergraduates when the application is due; applications open January 2 and close March 15.
Society of Physics Students (AIP) Annual · due Mar 15
SPS Scholarships
About a dozen named scholarships for undergraduate SPS members, judged on scholarship and SPS participation — the Leadership Scholarship runs $2,500–$6,000 for students of at least junior standing. One application covers them; due March 15 each year. Sigma Pi Sigma election through the chapter makes students eligible for further awards.
SMU Physics Annual · departmental
SMU Physics departmental awards & scholarships
The department's own honors for physics majors: the Frank C. McDonald Memorial Award (merit), the Robert Stewart Hyer Scholarship in Physics (highest academic performance), the Katherine Sams Wiley Physics Scholarship (sophomores and above, with attention to women in science), the Jeff Chalk Physics Award (promoting the learning of physics), and the Physics Undergraduate Scholarship.
SMU Dedman College Annual
Hamilton Scholars & Mayer Research Fellows
Paid undergraduate research at SMU: Hamilton Undergraduate Research Scholars work hands-on with a faculty mentor, and Robert Mayer Undergraduate Research Fellows pursue interdisciplinary projects with mentors from two departments — the usual funding route for undergraduates joining the group.

Awards & honors — graduate students

APS Texas–Arkansas–Oklahoma Section Annual · due Oct 2, 2026
Steven Weinberg Research Award
The graduate-student counterpart of the Hyer Award: $1,000 and a plaque for research done as a graduate student and presented at a section meeting within the past two years. Same nomination package; 2026 nominations close October 2, 2026. The section also gives student presentation and travel awards at its meetings.
APS Division of Particles & Fields Annual · due ~Sep 1
Mitsuyoshi Tanaka Dissertation Award in Experimental Particle Physics
$2,500, up to $1,500 travel, and an invited talk at a DPF or APS April meeting for the best experimental particle-physics thesis from a North American university, defended no more than 24 months before the September 1 deadline; a nominee can be renominated once.
ATLAS Collaboration Annual · internal nominations
ATLAS Thesis Awards
The collaboration's recognition of outstanding PhD theses — in 2025, 8 winners from 36 applications among 200+ eligible theses, presented at the February ceremony. Nominations follow the internal call on the ATLAS Thesis Awards twiki (CERN login).
IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society Annual · due Jan 31
NPSS Graduate Scholarship Award
$2,500, a certificate, and a year of NPSS membership for a graduate student in nuclear and plasma sciences — detector and instrumentation work fits — judged on academic record, talks and publications, and IEEE participation. Due January 31 each year.
Sigma Xi Two cycles · Oct 1 & Mar 15
Grants in Aid of Research
Small research grants for graduate and undergraduate students: members up to $5,000 (graduate) or $2,000 (undergraduate), non-members up to $1,000 — useful for travel to a lab, a school, or equipment. Fall cycle closes October 1, 2026; spring cycle March 15.
Springer Nature Rolling
Springer Theses
Publication of an outstanding PhD thesis as a book in the Springer Theses series. The head of department nominates within 12 months of the defense; English, with a supervisor's foreword and no more than 30% previously published material.

Awards & honors — postdocs & early-career faculty

APS Division of Particles & Fields Annual · due ~Jun 1
Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics
$5,000 and an invited lecture for a particle physicist within 7 years of the PhD at the nomination deadline (plus career breaks) — postdocs and assistant professors alike. The 2026 deadline (June 1) has passed; nominations reopen in the spring.
American Physical Society Annual · due ~Jun 1
Maria Goeppert Mayer Award
$5,000 plus travel for lectures at up to three institutions, for a woman physicist no later than 7 years after the PhD (career interruptions excluded).
APS DPF · Software & Computing Annual · ~April
Software & Computing Rising Star Award
Recognition for significant, documented software and computing contributions to particle physics by someone within 15 years of their terminal degree; self-nominations allowed. Winners present at the annual CPSC meeting — a natural fit for GPU event-generator and ML-infrastructure work.
APS DPF · CPAD Annual
DPF Instrumentation Early Career Award
Recognition for outstanding instrumentation and detector contributions by researchers roughly 15 years or less from the PhD, awarded alongside the senior DPF Instrumentation Award. The last posted deadline was September 15, 2025; nominations stay active for three years.
IEEE NPSS · Radiation Instrumentation Annual · due Jul 15
Radiation Instrumentation Early Career Award
$1,500 and a plaque, presented at the IEEE NSS/MIC, for detector and radiation-instrumentation work by someone whose highest degree is within 10 years of nomination — current graduate students included.

Awards & honors — faculty

APS Division of Particles & Fields Annual · due ~Jun 1
W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics
$10,000 and a travel allowance — the field's major prize for experimental particle physics, open to scientists of all nations and usually recognizing contributions made early in the career.
American Physical Society · DPF Annual · June
APS Fellowship (DPF nomination)
Election by peers for exceptional contributions, limited to 0.5% of the membership each year. Nominator, co-sponsor and nominee must all be APS members; nominations open in January, close in early–mid June, and stay active for two years.
APS Division of Particles & Fields Annual · early June
Meenakshi Narain Mentoring Award
$5,000 and travel to the April Meeting for exceptional impact as a mentor of particle-physics students and scientists; the nomination needs three to four seconding letters and a list of mentees.
APS DPF · CPAD Annual
DPF Instrumentation Award
For outstanding contributions to instrumentation and detector development — unique instruments with major impact, new techniques, influential publications. Nominating letter plus two to three seconding letters via Academic Jobs Online.
IEEE NPSS · Radiation Instrumentation Annual · due Jul 15
Glenn F. Knoll Radiation Instrumentation Outstanding Achievement Award
$3,000 and a plaque for long-standing contributions to radiation instrumentation, presented at the IEEE NSS/MIC.
ATLAS Collaboration Annual · June ceremony
ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Awards
For individuals or teams at any career stage with outstanding contributions outside physics analysis — detector, trigger, upgrade, combined performance, software and computing, outreach. Annual since 2025 (65 nominations, 7 awards); nominated from across the collaboration.
American Physical Society Check page
Edward A. Bouchet Award
$5,000 plus travel and support for three institutional talks, for a Black, Hispanic, or Indigenous physicist with significant research contributions who is an effective communicator. The APS page has not posted a cycle since 2024 — confirm before nominating.
AAAS Annual · nomination
AAAS Fellows
Election for distinguished efforts to advance science. Nominees need four years of continuous AAAS membership; nominations come from a section steering group or three current Fellows (at least two outside the nominee's institution).
APS Texas–Arkansas–Oklahoma Section Annual
TAOAPS Distinguished Service Award
The regional section's recognition for faculty and professionals who have made a significant contribution to the section's programs or to the Texas physics community; one or more awarded each year.
SMU Provost Annual · Oct–Nov nominations
SMU internal faculty awards
Gerald J. Ford Research Fellowships and the Second Century Faculty Career Achievement Award (nominations in November via the University Research Council), the Provost Research Fellowship, the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Award ($10,000; tenured faculty; October nominations via the Center for Teaching Excellence), and the Rotunda Outstanding Professor Award.

Suggest an addition or correction: saptaparnab@smu.edu. This page is a hand-curated snapshot; deadline details change — the agency and foundation links are authoritative.