DOE BER Program Invites Proposals for Regionally Focused Research

Published: 1 April 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science program in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) has announced its interest in receiving applications from universities and/or national laboratories for multidisciplinary research centers that focus on regional studies of severe weather-related hazards that impact energy and other critical infrastructures. This funding opportunity aligns with DOE’s Genesis Mission, and projects are strongly encouraged to incorporate artificial intelligence methods and partnerships.

These regional centers should combine data and modeling approaches to improve the predictability of extreme weather phenomena, land-atmosphere interactions, hydrological hazards, impacts on built energy and related infrastructures, and the development of new tools to improve decision-making. BER encourages applicants to leverage DOE-supported observational data, models, and/or user facilities as appropriate for the proposed research.

In addition, BER encourages applications based on collaborations across multidisciplinary research teams consisting of participants from DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration national laboratories, academic and nonprofit research institutions, other federal agencies, and/or the private sector.

Applicants are encouraged to send an email to Daniel.Winkler@science.doe.gov by Friday, May 1, 2026, on the planned regional focus areas and expected teaming arrangements. These emails are for planning purposes only; institutions should not expect a response. BER anticipates holding merit review panels in summer 2026 and strongly encourages applications to be submitted by Monday, June 1, 2026, for consideration.

For anticipated award information and full application instructions, read this letter from Dorothy Koch, the associate director of science for BER.