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 Institute for Energy Seed Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty
Read the Precourt Institute for Energy 2020 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 Seed Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Doctoral Students
Read the TomKat Center Graduate Fellowships in Sustainable Energy Request for Proposals »
The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy seed grants are meant to promote early-stage high-risk, high-reward research projects with seed funding of up to $100,000 per year for up to two years. The TomKat Center is currently requesting proposals for research in sustainable energy as well as research at the nexus of energy with food, water, health and the environment.
TomKat Center Energy Innovation Transfer Program
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty, Staff & Students
The Energy Innovation Transfer Program helps inventors bridge the gap between sponsored research and technology commercialization through 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 Energy Innovation Transfer Program advisory board, mentors and affiliates will provide input as part of the proposal evaluation process and provide mentorship and guidance to individual projects. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
TomKat Center energyCatalyst Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Students
By augmenting course curriculum with experts and experiences, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy’s energyCatalyst grants aim to cultivate interdisciplinary thinking and introduce sustainable energy concepts and opportunities to Stanford students. TomKat energyCatalyst Grants can be used to subsidize class trips; guest lecturers in a class; and materials for course projects or demonstrations. 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. Funding is limited to one grant per course per quarter.