Applications are now being accepted 

for up to two new NIST Precision

Measurement Grants with an 

anticipated award date of October 1, 

2024. Awards are anticipated to be up 

to $50,000 each, per year, renewable 

for up to two years, for a total of up to 

$150,000 per award. Refer to Notice

of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

number 2024-NIST-PMGP-01 

(available on grants.gov), for official

application guidelines and 

instructions. April 9, 2024 is the 

abbreviated application deadline, 

unless amended in the NOFO.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

PRECISION 

MEASUREMENT 

GRANTS

Background:

Since 1970, the National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST)

has awarded Precision Measurement

Grants for significant research in the 

field of fundamental measurement or 

the determination of fundamental

constants.

NIST sponsors these grants to

encourage basic,

measurement-related research in 

universities, colleges, and other

research laboratories and to foster

contacts between NIST scientists and

those researchers who are actively

engaged in such work. The Precision 

Measurement Grants are also 

intended to make it possible for

researchers to pursue new ideas for

which other sources of support may

be difficult to find.

If funding is available, up to two new

grants in the amount of $50,000 per

year will be awarded for the initial 

period of October 1, 2024 through

September 30, 2025. Each award 

may be continued for up to two 

additional years at the discretion of 

NIST based on satisfactory 

performance, continuing relevance to 

program objectives, and the 

availability of funds.

Research topics:

There is some latitude in research

topics that will be considered under

the Precision Measurement Grants

Program. 

Proposals will be evaluated based 

upon the criteria indicated in the

NOFO, which includes the 

relationship of the proposed research

to NIST’s ongoing effort to develop

improved fundamental measurement

methods or standards, test the basic

laws of physics, or provide an

improved value for a fundamental

constant.

Typical projects that have been

funded through the NIST Precision

Measurement Grants Program

include:

Precision optical spectroscopy of

positronium, S. Chu, Stanford

University.

Spectroscopy of francium: towards a 

precise parity nonconservation

measurement in a laser trap, L. A.

Orozco, State University of 

New York at Stony Brook.

Measurement of Newton’s constant G

using a new method, J. H. Gundlach,

University of Washington.

Measurement of the polarization of

the cosmic microwave background ,

S. T. Staggs, Princeton University.

Combining the quantum Hall and 

AC Josephson effects for electric

current metrology, E. A. Gwinn,

University of California,

Santa Barbara.

A test of CPT symmetry using a new

K- 3He self-compensating

magnetometer, M. V. Romalis, 

Princeton University

Who may apply: 

Eligible applicants include

accredited institutions of higher

education; non-profit organizations;

for-profit organizations incorporated

in the United States; state, local, 

territorial, and Indian tribal

governments; foreign public

entities; foreign organizations; and

Federal agencies with appropriate

legal authority. Note that individuals

and unincorporated sole proprietors

are not considered “non-Federal

entities” and are not eligible to

apply for this grant.

Application Procedure: 

See Section IV of NOFO 2024-NISTPMGP-01 (accessible at 

www.grants.gov) for complete

application requirements.

Applicants for the Precision

Measurement Grants Program

must first submit an abbreviated 

proposal for review. Based on the

merit of the abbreviated proposal, 

“finalists” will be selected and 

invited to submit a full proposal. 

The abbreviated proposals of all

applicants and the full proposals of

selected finalists will be evaluated

and ranked based upon the 

evaluation criteria in Section V.1. 

of the NOFO and reprinted below.

Application evaluation criteria:

1. The importance of the

proposed research--Reviewers

will evaluate: The potential for

answering some currently

pressing question or for opening

up a whole new area ofactivity.

2. The relationship of the

proposed research to NIST’s

ongoing work--Reviewers will

evaluate: Extent to which the

proposed research support one

of the following efforts at NIST.

(a) Developing a new or

improved fundamental

measurement method or

physical standard;

(b) Testing the basic laws of

physics; or 

(c) Providing an improved

value for a fundamental

constant.

(See https://pml.nist.gov)

3. The feasibility of the research

and the potential impact of the

grant--Reviewers will evaluate: 

Likelihood that significant 

progress can be made in a 

three-year period with the funds 

and personnel available, and 

that the funding will enable work 

that would otherwise not be

done.

4. The qualifications of the

applicant--Reviewers will

evaluate: Extent to which the

applicant’s qualifications

indicate a high probability that

the proposed research will be

carried out successfully, based 

upon:

(a) Principal Investigator’s (PI)

educational & employment

background; and 

(b) Quality of PI’s research as 

reflected in recent publications.

Dates:

Applicants must refer to the NOFO for

official due dates and Grants.gov

black-out dates. Unless amended

through www.grants.gov it is 

anticipated that the abbreviated

proposals must be received via email

(to pmg@nist.gov) no later than 5:00 

p.m. EST, April 9, 2024 (Tuesday).

Proposals received after the deadline

will be returned with no further

consideration. The finalists will be

selected by May 9, 2024 and will be

requested to submit full proposals via

grants.gov no later than 11:59

p.m. EST on July 9, 2024 (Tuesday).

NIST expects to issue awards on or 

before September 30, 2024. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to 

start early and not wait until the 

approaching due date to review 

instructions in the NOFO and submit 

an application. Applications received 

after the deadline will not be reviewed 

or considered. 

NOFO 2024-NIST-PMGP-01 is 

the official competition 

document. Nothing in this 

leaflet is intended to conflict 

with or supersede the NOFO in 

any way. Any perceived 

conflict between this leaflet 

and the NOFO must be 

resolved in favor of the NOFO.

NIST and Grants.gov contacts are 

listed in Section VII of the NOFO. 

Programmatic and technical questions 

may be directed to Joseph Tan, via 

email at 

joseph.tan@nist.gov. 

Web: www.grants.gov and 

www.physics.nist.gov/pmg 

Each of these factors will be 

given equal weight in the 

evaluation process.