The Precourt Institute for Energy fosters opportunities for faculty and students to engage in energy research and education at Stanford and beyond. Explore funded research opportunities below.
Precourt Pioneering Projects Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty
Read the current Precourt Pioneering Projects Grants 2021 RFPs in Energy Efficient Computing and Carbon Removal»
The Precourt Institute for Energy works to build Stanford’s capacity to conduct high-impact research across the full range of energy sourcing, conversions, transmission, uses, emissions abatement and carbon management, as well as improve the financial, legal and regulatory environments that affect deployment of energy technologies.
These new Precourt Pioneering Projects grant awards are aimed at tackling urgent and important problems in energy and those that are underdeveloped relative to other areas at Stanford. These awards are to support faculty to build a strong collaborative team of 3-4 faculty members and enable them to explore outside funding opportunities based on this research.
The Precourt Pioneering Projects will be funded to a level of $450,000 for two years. It is anticipated that one project will be funded per call and we plan to issue quarterly calls, each in a different focus area.
Precourt Institute for Energy Seed Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty
See past Seed Grant Requests for Proposals »
The Precourt Institute for Energy seed grants fund Stanford faculty research with the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These proof-of-concept awards enable researchers to move from theory to early experiments and analysis. Proposals that involve interdisciplinary efforts, especially those that bring together faculty in new ways, are encouraged and receive priority. The proposed work may involve the broad range of disciplines involved in energy, for example, science, engineering, policy, and/or social science, individually or in combination.
TomKat Center Innovation Transfer Program
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty, Staff & Students
The Innovation Transfer Program helps inventors and entrepreneurs bridge the gap between sponsored research and technology commercialization for innovative sustainability products and business models. The Program provides targeted funding to help facilitate development of prototypes, conduct market research and refine business plans. The latter will heavily leverage the many on-campus entrepreneurship resources. The Innovation Transfer Program staff, mentors, and affiliates will provide input as part of the proposal evaluation process and provide mentorship and guidance to the ventures. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
TomKat Center Graduate Fellowships for Translation
Eligibility: Advanced Stanford Doctoral Students
The TomKat Center Graduate Fellowships provide two years of funding (stipend, tuition, and other research expenses) for Stanford doctoral students performing translational research for sustainable energy or other sustainability challenges. These fellowships are meant to support advanced doctoral students (third year and beyond) to pursue innovative research projects beyond the proof-of-concept stage toward impactful applications.
TKC Postdoctoral Fellowships in Sustainable Energy
Eligibility: Recent Ph.D. graduates (to recruit them to Stanford)
The TomKat Center Postdoctoral Fellowships support outstanding recent Ph.D. graduates working on projects that explore new research directions in sustainable energy and its intersection with food, water, the environment, or human health. The Fellowships are intended to attract exceptional early-career researchers to Stanford University and allow the Fellows to pursue creative, multidisciplinary research that complements the existing work of or creates new research areas for their Stanford faculty advisor.
TomKat Center energyCatalyst Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty, Lecturers, Staff & Students
By augmenting course curriculum with experts and experiences, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy’s energyCatalyst grants aim to cultivate interdisciplinary thinking and introduce sustainability concepts and opportunities to Stanford students. TomKat energyCatalyst Grants can be used to subsidize group projects; class trips; guest lecturers in a class; and materials for demonstrations or prototyping. Examples of successful grant applications might include taking a class on an industry or site tour; inviting an industry expert or guest researcher to give a lecture to a class; or purchasing materials for demonstrating, prototyping or testing technology for a course project or student group. Funding is limited to one grant per course per quarter.
