Characterization, synchrotron and neutron facilities

Ideas that need big or specialist instruments, such as synchrotron X-rays, neutron scattering, electron microscopy and other shared user facilities, plus funding to buy instruments.

Who funds this idea

26 calls from 22 funders currently fund work on this idea. Most calls: NIH (3), European Commission (Horizon Europe) (3), SLAC – Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (DOE) (1), U.S. Department of Defense (AFOSR, ONR, Army) (1), Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (1), ANSTO (1), and 16 other funders.

3 calls for this idea welcome industry or international partners

Open now (16)

SSRL X-ray/VUV and MX proposals

SLAC – Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (DOE) · International

Deadline: 01 Nov 2026 (10 days)

Facility access (beamtime/instrument time), no cash award

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationearly-careerestablished / PIinstrument / beamtime

FY2027 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)

U.S. Department of Defense (AFOSR, ONR, Army) · United States

Deadline: 06 Nov 2026 (15 days)

Award: Award ceiling per Grants.gov listing: AFOSR up to $7,000,000; ONR up to $3,000,000; Army up to $3,000,000

Checked 22 Oct 2026

chemistryestablished / PIinstrument / beamtime

CHESS 2027 Winter Run (2027_1) proposals

Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source · International

Deadline: 18 Nov 2026 (27 days)

Award size: not stated in the listing; see call

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialsearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

PSI SINQ neutron source – call for proposals

Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) – SINQ · International

Deadline: 15 Jan 2027 (85 days)

Facility access (beamtime/instrument time), no cash award

Checked 15 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Limited Competition: Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed, PAR-27-067)

National Institutes of Health (NIGMS and partner institutes, ORIP) · United States

Deadline: 26 Jan 2027 (96 days)

Award: $25,000 to $250,000 (instrument base cost at least $25,000)

Checked 22 Oct 2026

chemistrymaterialspharma processestablished / PIearly-careerinstrument / beamtime

NSLS-II General User proposals

Brookhaven National Laboratory – NSLS-II (DOE) · International (US DOE user facility)

Deadline: 31 Jan 2027 (101 days)

Facility access (beamtime/instrument time), no cash award

Checked 15 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Automated Scientific Discovery - Materials Science (RAISE pilot) (RIA)

European Commission – Horizon Europe · EU Member States & Horizon Europe associated countries

Deadline: 02 Feb 2027 (103 days)

Award: Up to EUR 9,000,000 per project

Checked 22 Oct 2026

materialsestablished / PI

Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) standard beamtime proposals

Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) · ILL member countries (two-thirds rule)

Deadline: 15 Feb 2027 (116 days)

Award size: not stated in the listing; see call

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

PETRA III regular proposals

DESY Photon Science · International

Deadline: 01 Mar 2027 (130 days)

Award size: not stated in the listing; see call

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialsearly-careerestablished / PIinstrument / beamtime

ORNL Neutron Sciences (HFIR & SNS) General User Proposal Call 2027-B

Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Neutron Sciences (DOE) · International (US DOE user facility)

Deadline: 10 Mar 2027 (139 days)

Facility access (beamtime/instrument time), no cash award

Checked 15 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

ACA awards: Margaret C. Etter Early Career, Fankuchen Memorial, Kenneth N. Trueblood, Bau Neutron Diffraction (nominations for 2028 meeting)

American Crystallographic Association · International (ACA)

Deadline: 01 Apr 2027 (161 days)

Award size: not stated in the listing; see call

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationearly-careerestablished / PIearly-career / new PIprize / nomination

Seed Instrumentation Support (SIS) Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed, PAR-27-021)

National Institutes of Health (ORIP, NIA, NIAID) · United States

Deadline: 01 Jul 2027 (252 days)

Award: $50,000 to $400,000 for one instrument (no limit on the instrument's total cost)

Checked 22 Oct 2026

chemistrymaterialspharma processestablished / PIearly-careerinstrument / beamtime

Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

National Institutes of Health · United States

Deadline: 01 Jul 2028 (618 days)

Award: Up to $5,000,000

Checked 22 Oct 2026

chemistryestablished / PIinstrument / beamtime

Advanced Light Source beamtime 2027 (RAPIDD access; BTRs)

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab – ALS (DOE) · International (DOE user facility)

Deadline: Rolling / no fixed deadline

Award size: not stated in the listing; see call

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialsearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Chemical Process Systems (CPS)

U.S. National Science Foundation · United States

Deadline: Rolling / no fixed deadline

Award: Varies, see funder

Checked 22 Oct 2026

chemistrymaterialsestablished / PI

Diamond Light Source proposal call (AP42)

Diamond Light Source · International (incl. EU users)

Deadline: Call AP42 open; deadline not shown on the page – check the funder page

Facility access (beamtime/instrument time), no cash award

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIinstrument / beamtime

Opening soon (10)

Australian Synchrotron Merit Access 2027-2

ANSTO · International (free for open publication)

Opening soon: opens 26 Oct 2026

Deadline: 26 Nov 2026 (35 days)

Award size: not stated in the listing; see call

Checked 16 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialsearly-careerestablished / PIinstrument / beamtime

Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN, Brookhaven) user proposals

Brookhaven National Laboratory – CFN (DOE Nanoscale Science Research Center) · International (US DOE user facility)

Opening soon: opens 01 Jan 2027

Deadline: 31 Jan 2027 (101 days)

Award: Free access to instruments and staff expertise for non-proprietary research (no funding to users)

Checked 16 Oct 2026

materialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Advanced Photon Source (APS) General User proposals

Argonne National Laboratory – Advanced Photon Source (DOE) · International (US DOE user facility)

Opening soon: opens 01 Feb 2027

Deadline: 03 Mar 2027 (132 days)

Facility access (beamtime/instrument time), no cash award

Checked 22 Oct 2026

crystallizationmaterialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM, Argonne) user proposals

Argonne National Laboratory – CNM (DOE Nanoscale Science Research Center) · International (US DOE user facility)

Opening soon: opens 05 Feb 2027

Deadline: 05 Mar 2027 (134 days)

Award: Free access to instruments and staff expertise for non-proprietary research (no funding to users)

Checked 16 Oct 2026

materialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

RSC Research Fund 2027

Royal Society of Chemistry · International (RSC members)

Opening soon: opens 30 Nov 2026

Deadline: 15 Mar 2027 (144 days)

Award: Up to £5,000 for 12 months

Checked 15 Oct 2026

chemistryearly-careerestablished / PIearly-career / new PIinstrument / beamtime

Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT, Sandia/Los Alamos) user proposals

Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories – CINT (DOE Nanoscale Science Research Center) · International (US DOE user facility)

Opening soon: opens 01 Mar 2027

Deadline: 31 Mar 2027 (160 days)

Award: Free access to instruments and staff expertise for non-proprietary research (no funding to users)

Checked 16 Oct 2026

materialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

The Molecular Foundry (Berkeley Lab) standard user proposals

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – Molecular Foundry (DOE Nanoscale Science Research Center) · International (US DOE user facility)

Opening soon: opens 01 Mar 2027

Deadline: 31 Mar 2027 (160 days)

Award: Free access for non-proprietary research (no funding to users); proprietary work is paid ($448/hr in 2027)

Checked 16 Oct 2026

materialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate neutral aviation

European Commission – Horizon Europe · EU Member States & Horizon Europe associated countries

Opening soon: not yet open

Deadline: 14 Apr 2027 (174 days)

Award: Up to EUR 2,500,000 per project

Checked 22 Oct 2026

materialsestablished / PI

Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS, Oak Ridge) user proposals

Oak Ridge National Laboratory – CNMS (DOE Nanoscale Science Research Center) · International (US DOE user facility)

Opening soon: opens 01 Mar 2027

Deadline: 15 May 2027 (205 days)

Award: Free access to instruments and staff expertise for non-proprietary research (no funding to users)

Checked 16 Oct 2026

materialschemistryearly-careerestablished / PIstudentinstrument / beamtime

Developing novel recycling technologies for complex plastic materials applying biotech solutions

European Commission – Horizon Europe · EU Member States & Horizon Europe associated countries

Opening soon: not yet open

Deadline: 22 Sep 2027 (335 days)

Award: Up to EUR 5,000,000 per project

Checked 22 Oct 2026

materialsestablished / PI

Recently funded work on this idea

62 awards from NSF and NIH in our sample of the last 24 months match this idea. Latest examples:

Award (official page)	Institution	Amount	Start date
Collaborative Research: DMREF: NSF-DFG: AI-Driven Platform for 2D Materials Synthesis and Discovery U.S. National Science Foundation · DMREF, GVF - Global Venture Fund, OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC	Pennsylvania State Univ University Park	$1,440,000 (estimated total award)	01 Oct 2026
Collaborative Research: DMREF: NSF-DFG: AI-Driven Platform for 2D Materials Synthesis and Discovery U.S. National Science Foundation · DMREF	Kenyon College	$160,000 (estimated total award)	01 Oct 2026
I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Silicon-Native Light Source Platform Enabled by Momentum-Engineered Photonic States U.S. National Science Foundation · I-Corps	University of California-Irvine	$50,000 (estimated total award)	01 Sep 2026
Interface structure and precrystalline order in complex-oxide solid phase epitaxy: direct insights from in situ x-ray scattering U.S. National Science Foundation · CERAMICS	University of Wisconsin-Madison	$554,081 (estimated total award)	01 Sep 2026