The Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship Program recently announced $6.1 million in new research awards to 18 SMART scholars as part of its competitive SMART SEED Innovation Award (SEED Awards) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The SEED Awards develops a cadre of future scientific and technological talent within the DoD by supporting SMART scholars as they begin their DoD employment after completing their Ph.D., strengthening the American military and scientific expertise.
SEED is a research award of up to $125K per year for up to a maximum of three years, with an option to add $30K per year to support a mentor’s time. The award supports SMART Ph.D. scholars establishing a foundational research and/or engineering effort as they transition from the pursuit of their Ph.D. to full-time DoD civilian employment. The technical work completed through SEED is aligned with a DoD mission or critical technology area of their Sponsoring Facility.
Mentoring of SEED Award recipients by established scientists and engineers in the DoD workforce is a key component of the initiative. The $30K mentor award encourages career-building activities, such as jointly attending scientific conferences or DoD program reviews, to help the SEED investigators develop professional networks and understand the DoD science and technology enterprise.
“The SMART SEED Innovation Awards foster our commitment to emerging talent within the Department of Defense,” stated Marcus Smith, Ph.D., SMART Deputy Program Manager. “By providing crucial resources and mentorship, we are empowering our doctoral scholars to lead groundbreaking research and innovation in critical technology areas vital to national security.”
Smith continued, “This initiative not only enhances their professional growth but also propels the DoD's scientific and technological capabilities forward.”
Proposals are reviewed by science and technology experts across the DoD Components. The FY 2025 SEED Award recipients join over 100 investigators who have been awarded since FY 2021.
A highly competitive scholarship-for-service program, SMART is the largest science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-focused education and workforce initiative under DoD STEM, the Department’s comprehensive K–20 STEM education and talent development effort. SMART provides full-tuition awards during any phase of a scholar’s education at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. The program sponsors bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies in a variety of academic disciplines critical to national security and the DoD’s scientific and technological future. Upon graduation, students move directly into federal civilian employment at DoD facilities and laboratories. Scholarship awards can be made during any phase of a scholar’s education and vary in length from a minimum of one year to a maximum of five years. The service commitment is one year of DoD employment for each academic year of SMART funding. Since its inception in 2006, the program has awarded over 5,800 scholarships.
To learn more about the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program and the participating DoD Sponsoring Facilities, visit http://www.smartscholarship.org/en.
Information on the SMART SEED Innovation Awards Program can be found at https://www.smartscholarship.org/smart/en?id=innovation_awards
Interested in becoming a SMART scholar? The application is currently open until Dec. 5, 2025. More information can be found at smartscholarship.org
The FY 2025 SMART SEED Innovation Award Principal Investigators and their Sponsoring Facilities are:
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2025 09:32 |
| Story ID: | 546876 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 237 |
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