WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Sciences have launched a new long-term grant program to support research by Ukrainian scientists. The program was established with the aim of sustaining and eventually rebuilding a healthy research system in Ukraine despite the ongoing war.  

Grants under the new program allow teams of Ukrainian scientists, engineers, and researchers to continue their work at Polish academic or research institutes under the supervision of an experienced principal investigator. These PI-led research teams may include undergraduates or postgraduates, scientists, assistant researchers, or administrators who are based within or outside of Ukraine. Research projects can be funded for up to three years under the program, which is open to all research disciplines, although preference will be given to projects in mathematics, computer science and engineering, telecommunications, energy and environmental engineering, agriculture, materials science, physics, and life and biomedical sciences. 

Hundreds of researchers were among the millions of Ukrainians forced to flee following the Russian invasion in February, and more than 200 have been placed temporarily in Polish science and academic institutions. Although science institutions in Ukraine are still functioning, much critical science infrastructure there has been damaged or destroyed, and many researchers who remain are at-risk and have lost financial support due to wartime cuts in funding.  

A component of the U.S. NAS’ Scientists and Engineers in Exile or Displaced (SEED) initiative, which supports forcibly displaced and at-risk scientists around the world, the new grant program builds upon previous efforts led by the U.S. NAS and Polish Academy of Sciences to support Ukrainian science since the war began. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 16, 2023.  

“A prosperous future for Ukraine will depend on innovation and discovery from its scientists, engineers, and researchers,” said NAS President Marcia McNutt. “This grant program will help ensure that these essential researchers will not only continue their work during the war but also remain positioned to help Ukraine’s rebuilding and recovery process.” 

In addition to these efforts, the U.S. and Polish academies are also serving as secretariats for a high-level international coordinating group of scientific organizations formed to take concrete steps to support Ukraine’s research community and help rebuild a successful global science and innovation system when the war ends. 

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and — with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine — provides science, technology, and health policy advice to nation and the world. 

• Supporting Ukraine’s Scientists, Engineers, and Health Care Workers