Office of Naval Research Awards $17M To Young Investigators

Office of Naval Research announced on Feb. 22, 2026 that approximately $17 million in Young Investigator Program funding will be shared among 23 early-career researchers who earned Ph.D.s on or after Jan. 1, 2018. Grants, typically $750,000 over three years, support projects in coastal forecasting, machine learning, autonomy, hypersonics, sensors, robotics, materials and ocean acoustics. The awards aim to accelerate defense-relevant scientific breakthroughs and operational capabilities.