Scope of the Award

For more than 50 years, the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and its forerunner organizations - including the Army Ballistics Research Laboratory that played a major role during WWII - have conducted the great majority of the Army's basic science programs. Among their many successes, ARL civilian employees helped develop the proximity fuze, worked to develop ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, the first operational, general purpose, electronic digital computer), grew some of the first synthetic large quartz crystals, and developed the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. Currently, ARL scientists and engineers are pioneering research in such areas as neuroscience, energetic materials and propulsion, electronics technologies, network sciences, quantum information science, virtual interfaces, and synthetic environments and autonomous systems. They are leaders in modeling and simulation, and have high performance computing resources on-site. They expand into emerging frontier areas, such as they did, for example, over over the past decade in quantum information and quantum networks.

In recognition of these outstanding achievements in research, ARL has established six named fellowships:

• The Harry Diamond Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship recognizes the significant work that Harry Diamond performed in inventing the proximity fuze, described at the time as “one of the outstanding scientific developments of World War II ... second only to the atomic bomb.”
• The George F. Adams Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowshiprecognizes the early work in computational chemistry that Dr. Adams pioneered. By recognizing the importance of theoretical chemistry, he laid the foundations for quantum mechanical predictions of structures of small molecules and energetic materials for the Army, a critical enabler for present-day ARL multi-scale computational research.
• The Robert J. Eichelberger Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship recognizes the significant contributions made by Dr. Eichelberger to detonation physics and electromagnetic phenomena induced by strong shocks in solids, and for his role as Director of the Army’s Ballistics Research Lab, from 1967 to 1986.
• The ENIAC Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship recognizes the ENIAC computer which was designed and constructed for the United States Army, Ordnance Corps, Research and Development Command during WWII. The construction contract was signed on June 5, 1943. Development began in secret at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering under the code name "Project PX." Once completed, ENIAC was housed and run by the Army’s Ballistic Research Laboratory.
• The Brad E. Forch Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship was established to honor an ARL scientist who, in addition to his outstanding technical accomplishments, was renowned for his broad expertise and his spirit of volunteerism. Dr. Forch began his Army career as NRC Research Associate and quickly moved up the ranks to career scientist, to team leader, to branch chief, and ultimately to the Army's highest rank of ST, serving as the expert in ballistics and energetic materials. His many technical achievements include the development of laser ignition technology for the 155-mm self-propelled howitzer.
• The Frances Elizabeth (Betty) Snyder (Holberton) Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship (aka the Betty Snyder Holberton Fellowship) recognizes groundbreaking work in computer programming at the Army Ballistic Research Laboratory. Snyder Holberton was a brilliant mathematician and pioneer of computer technology. She was one of six women "computers" selected to program the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) and went on to help develop the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), the C-10 instruction set for BINAC, and revisions of the Fortran language standard ("FORTRAN 77" and "FORTRAN 90").
  

Award Details

• Stipend: $115,000/year
• Health insurance
• Paid relocation
• Professional travel allowance
  

Key Dates

• April 14, 2025: Application opens
• July 10, 2025: Application deadline (5:00 PM Eastern Time)
• Mid-July to late August: Review of applications
• Late August: Applicants notified of status
• Late August to early September: Review of finalist applications by ARL
• September/October: Subset of finalists invited to give seminars at ARL
• November: Awardees announced
• Early 2026: Fellow start date

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must have completed all the requirements for a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree in the physical sciences, life sciences, computational sciences, behavioral sciences, or engineering by October 1, 2025.

Applicants who intend to defend their dissertation after October 1, 2025 are not eligible.

• Applicants may not be more than five years beyond the award date of their Ph.D. or Sc.D. by the fellowship application deadline.
  

Selection Criteria

• Applicants must demonstrate exceptional qualifications with respect to academic and scholarly achievement, as evidenced by research and publication.
• Applicants are expected to have conducted research on a major scientific or engineering problem during their thesis work or have provided a new approach or insight evidenced by a recognized impact in their field.

Finalists will be asked to present a seminar at ARL.

Fellowship Terms

• Selected Fellows must successfully complete a Department of Defense (DoD) clearance process, requiring a background security investigation. There are no citizenship requirements; however, foreign nationals must get further DoD approval, requiring a background investigation. If needed, J-1 research scholar visas may be sponsored for fellows; this will be determined on a case-by-case basis at the time of the award.
• Fellows may renew their one-year appointments for up to three years based on performance.
• Fellows must commit to full-time to the research program at ARL and must be in residence at ARL (i.e. conduct their research on site) during the entire period of the appointment. In some cases, ARL may provide for temporary location at another facility (e.g. another federal facility or a facility ARL is working with) to meet the specific needs of the research program.
• Fellows will be required to submit annual progress reports and a final report at the end of the appointment. These reports include an abstract of the research conducted and copies of publications resulting from it. If future papers are published as a result of research performed at ARL, copies must be provided to ARL.
• Fellows will be required to sign and abide by an appointment letter and an ARL IP agreement concerning discoveries, inventions, data, copyrights, and a disclaimer of liability.
  

How to Apply

Application Process

The deadline for online application submissions is July 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Applicants must register and submit an online application.

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