Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship

Research must be innovative in method, speed or process, or represent new instrument technology. This fellowship will be a catalyst from "mentored yet independent" postdocs to outstanding, independent researchers in academic or industry/governmental labs.

The Fellowships will be in two tracks (applicants will choose one):

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Sciences will allow chemists to pursue advanced research within the core areas of fundamental chemistry, such as chemical physics, chemical engineering, and chemistry of materials research. The fellowship is not intended to fund proposals that are supported by traditional NIH mechanisms in the fields of chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry.
  
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Instrumentation will allow researchers in chemistry to conceptualize, develop and build instrumentation suitable to advanced research in chemistry, chemical physics, chemical engineering, and chemistry of materials science. Instrumentation projects must be suitable to the two-year fellowship timeframe, be driven by a need in the chemical sciences listed above, be innovative in method speed or process or represent a wholly new instrument for technical advancement in chemistry, and may potentially be used for future research in the broader scientific community.

Fellows will be appointed for two years, with possibility for third year by renewal.

• Fellows will begin in July of program year.
• The award amount is $224,000 over 2 years for salary, fringe benefits and research expenditures; instrumentation fellowships will receive an additional one-time amount of up to $200,000. Fellows receiving year 3 renewal award will receive additional $118,000.

2025 Grant Expenditure

Criteria for Applicants at time of application:

• At a U.S. college, university or institution which offers postdoctoral fellowships and holds a 501(c)(3), or similarly qualifying, IRS designation; and
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its possessions, or hold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient status; and
  • Current graduate student anticipated to complete a PhD in the chemical sciences by May 1, 2025; or
  • Current postdoctoral researcher with a granted/conferred PhD in the chemical sciences with no more than 18 months cumulative postdoctoral research experience (at time of application due date); and
• Must pursue postdoctoral training in an area of chemical sciences. While bio related applications will be considered, the fellowship is not intended to fund proposals that are supported by traditional biochemical or biological science mechanisms (e.g., NIH mechanisms); and
• Must have identified a mentor in the chemical sciences at a qualified U.S. nonprofit college, university or institution with appropriate laboratory facilities to support their postdoctoral research proposal.

**If you have exceeded the 18-month eligibility window but you experienced extended restricted access during COVID, please email aobpostdoc@beckman-foundation.org to discuss your eligibility status**

Criteria for Sponsoring Mentor at time of application:

• PhD, or MD/PhD; and
• Full-time tenured or tenure track with at least a 25% appointment in chemistry, chemical physics, chemical engineering, or materials chemistry department at their institution; and
• Active investigator in the applicant’s area of research; and
• Mentors may only sponsor one applicant per program year for consideration

Any of the following conditions will render an applicant ineligible:

• At the time of application due date, applicants with more than 18 months of cumulative postdoctoral experience in a research lab, or who are more than 3 years from their PhD, are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants may not submit applications to both the "Chemical Sciences" and "Chemical Instrumentation" fellowships in a single program year.
• Visa holders are not eligible to apply.
• Government laboratories, such as NIH or federally funded national laboratories are not eligible institutions.
• Applicant has not successfully completed their PhD by May 1, 2025.
• Applicants may not have faculty appointments.

Any of the following conditions will render a Sponsoring Mentor, and subsequently the Applicant(s) ineligible:

• Sponsoring mentor supports two or more applicants for LOI submittal

At the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, we acknowledge, appreciate and support the fundamental roles that diversity, equity and inclusion have in scientific progress and innovation. We seek applicants from all backgrounds in our programs and strive to ensure a fair and equitable process for selection of awardees, recognizing that excellent science is not the exclusive endeavor of one group of people, but of all. In an effort to avoid implicit and explicit bias in our review process, the Foundation will blind all information pertaining to applicants’ name, gender, ethnicity, citizenship status and institutional information from reviewers during the preliminary reviews.

Read our full statement here.

• The Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows Award is a merit based program.
• This program is an Open Call; institutions are not limited to the number of candidates which may apply.

For proposal writing tips and more information, download the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship Additional Guidance Document here.

Click on the "Apply Now" button on the right hand side of this page to access. Once you’ve created an account, proceed to the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoc Application.

The Foundation will use a 2-step application process:

• Step 1: Letter of Intent (LOI) will be a blinded review of the research proposal - be sure to follow the instructions for blinding your research proposal and references
• Step 2: Full Application for those invited to apply, based on reviews of the LOIs

The application portal will generally be open for submissions June – September. Please check the online portal for exact deadlines each year.

Incomplete applications and/or materials received after the deadline will be eliminated from the competition.

Award notifications generally are released in mid-March.

Did you know? The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation is a sustaining member of the National Postdoctoral Association. Visit the NPA Career Center, or follow on your favorite social media platforms:

• X (previously known as Twitter) & Instagram: @nationalpostdoc
• LinkedIn: /company/national-postdoctoral-association

Generative artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT or AI, are evolving into essential software in the researcher’s toolkit. Just as graphing and statistical software aid in data analysis and presentation, AI tools can assist authors in their work. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports the use of these tools as supplementary resources when used in an ethical and responsible manner. Accountability lies with the human authors, who remain responsible for the proper application of AI and the critical review and reporting of its output. All awardees and applicants are expected to comply with best practice in research and publishing ethics, take full responsibility for any errors made by an AI tool, and are expected to cooperate with questions relating to the accuracy or integrity of any part of their work, including data analyses and representation.