ACS-Moore Postdoctoral Bridge Award in Quantum Materials

Purpose

To support exceptional postdoctoral researchers in quantum materials who face financial challenges in their current postdoctoral appointment or in securing their next career opportunity.  This program will provide one year of bridge funding, professional development, and networking opportunities that sustain research momentum, foster interdisciplinary collaboration across physics, chemistry, and materials science, and strengthen the pipeline of talent advancing fundamental discoveries in quantum materials.

Description

The ACS-Moore Postdoctoral Bridge Award in Quantum Materials is a partnership between the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Moore Foundation).  The Moore Foundation is funding the program through its Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems (EPiQS) Initiative.  The Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative has supported the quantum materials research community since 2013, funding an interdisciplinary community of leading experimentalists, materials synthesis experts, and theorists, with a primary focus on U.S. universities.

This program addresses a critical gap for outstanding researchers who face unexpected disruptions at one of the most vulnerable points in an academic career.  For researchers whose Principal Investigators lose funding, or who face unexpected disruptions to their own appointments, this transition can mean not just career uncertainty, but the loss of research momentum built over years of highly specialized work.  By providing flexible bridge funding alongside a structured cohort experience, the program is designed to protect research momentum and accelerate postdocs' transition to independent academic leadership.

Approximately thirty postdoctoral researchers will be selected for funding in 2026.  Each postdoc will receive approximately $100,000: a $95,000 stipend and $5,000 for travel and/or research expenses.  Funds are expected to be expended within a 12-month period, although extensions of the award term will be considered.  Postdocs are selected through an institution-based nomination process, followed by an expert selection committee review.  Institutions will be invited to submit nomination packages through a senior institutional official, such as Provost or Vice President for Research.

In addition to financial support, awardees will be invited to participate in ACS-delivered professional development and networking programming, including:

• Workshops on career planning, grant writing, and preparation for faculty appointments

• Quarterly virtual research symposia featuring lightning talks by the postdocs

• In-person networking events, customized for the ACS quantum postdoctoral cohort 

• ACS Premium Membership package, including digital access to Chemical & Engineering News, personal career consulting, and ACS webinars

Professional development participation and career progression will be tracked and assessed throughout the program, with postdocs building lasting connections across institutions and research areas.

Eligibility

In its inaugural cycle, the ACS-Moore Postdoctoral Bridge Award in Quantum Materials program is operating on an invitation-only basis.  Selected institutions with an active research presence in quantum materials will be directly contacted. Invitations and nomination guidelines will be emailed to Senior Institutional Officials (e.g., Vice President of Research, Deans) by June 26, 2026.  Institutions interested in being considered for future cycles are encouraged to contact QMPostdoc@acs.org.  Nominations will be sought for postdoctoral researchers who are:

• Based at a U.S. institution of higher education

• Facing financial challenges with respect to their current postdoctoral appointment and/or in securing their next career opportunity

• Demonstrating strong potential for significant contributions to the scientific community and future academic leadership 

• NOT currently supported by a 2025 EPiQS cost-extension or a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Commitment

• NOT supported through the following 2026 EPiQS awards: Material Synthesis Investigator; Moore Fellow Synthesis; OR 2026 Experimental Investigator.

• Of any citizenship or national origin, residing in the U.S. 

• Conducting outstanding research in the following classes of quantum materials that are of interest to EPiQS: 

• Strongly correlated systems, including but not limited to unconventional superconductors, Mott insulators, multiferroics, and correlated oxide heterostructures

• Frustrated magnets and other solids exhibiting novel or exotic magnetic properties

• Topological materials

• Two-dimensional crystals and layered systems, including but not limited to graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, and van der Waals structures 

• Other low-dimensional systems, including but not limited to quantum wells and quantum wires with emergent electronic properties

• Hybrid quantum materials created by the integration of dissimilar component materials or through external stimuli

• Organic-based materials exhibiting emergent electronic properties, along with hybrid systems that incorporate organic components

• Cold-atom assemblies or photonic systems that can emulate properties of real materials (‘quantum simulators’) are outside the scope of this call for proposals. 

Applicants will be reviewed and awarded regardless of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, presence of disabilities, and educational background.Deadlines

Nomination: Nominations for the inaugural 2027 cycle are due Friday, August 14, 2026.

Fellowship Decisions: October 2026

Deadlines

Nomination: Nominations for the inaugural 2027 cycle are due Friday, August 14, 2026.

Funding Decisions: October 2026

Nomination, Application, and Selection Process

Nominations must be submitted by a senior institutional official. 

Acceptable nominators include the Provost, the Vice President for Research, or an equivalent institutional leader at the postdoctoral researcher's home institution. All nominations from a single institution must be submitted as one complete nomination package.

Postdoctoral researchers who wish to be considered are encouraged to discuss the opportunity with their research advisor, department Chair, and institutional leadership.

Nomination Package

A complete nomination package from each institution must include, for each nominee:

• Curriculum vitae (CV)

• Statement of research, including key findings and future research directions

• Two letters of support: (1) from the research advisor, and (2) from the department Chair

• A letter from the institutional leader (e.g., Provost or Vice President of Research) that: (a) endorses the nominee(s) and (b) briefly describes the internal institutional process for identifying nominees, including solicitation, selection criteria, and conflict-of-interest management, affirming a fair method that minimizes bias and gives due consideration to relevant faculty expertise.