SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sowing the Seeds 
Through Science and Engineering Research Act’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION EARLY CAREER 
AWARDS FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 
RESEARCHERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall carry out a program to award 
grants to scientists and engineers at the early stage of 
their careers at institutions of higher education and orga-
nizations described in subsection (c)(2) to conduct re-
search in fields relevant to the mission of the Foundation. 
The existing Faculty Early Career Development (CA-
REER) Program may be designated as the mechanism for 
awarding such grants. 
(b) SIZE AND DURATION OF AWARD.—The duration 
of awards under this section shall be 5 years, and the 
amount per year shall be at least $80,000. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—Award recipients shall be individ-
uals who are employed in a tenure-track position as an 
assistant professor or equivalent title, or who hold an 
equivalent position, at— 
(1) an institution of higher education in the 
United States; or 
(2) an organization in the United States that is 
a nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organiza-
tion such as a museum, observatory, or research lab-
oratory. 
(d) SELECTION.—Award recipients shall be selected 
on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis. 
(e) SELECTION
PROCESS
AND
CRITERIA
FOR 
AWARDS.—An applicant seeking funding under this sec-
tion shall submit a proposal to the Director at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Director may require. In evaluating the proposals sub-
mitted under this section, the Director shall consider, at 
a minimum— 
(1) the intellectual merit of the proposed work; 
(2) the innovative or transformative nature of 
the proposed research; 
(3) the extent to which the proposal integrates 
research and education, including undergraduate 
education in science and engineering disciplines; and 
(4) the potential of the applicant for leadership 
at the frontiers of knowledge. 
(f) AWARDS.—In awarding grants under this section, 
the Director shall endeavor to ensure that the recipients 
are from a variety of types of institutions of higher edu-
cation and nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organi-
zations. In support of this goal, the Director shall broadly 
disseminate information about when and how to apply for
grants under this section, including by conducting out-
reach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities that 
are part B institutions as defined in section 322(2) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)) and 
minority institutions (as defined in section 365(3) of that 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1067k(3))). In awarding grants under this 
section, the Director shall give special consideration to eli-
gible early-career researchers who have followed alter-
native career paths such as working part-time or in non-
academic settings, or who have taken a significant career 
break or other leave of absence. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.— For each 
of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012, the Director shall 
allocate at least 3.5 percent of funds appropriated to the 
National Science Foundation for Research and Related 
Activities to the grants program under this section, except 
to the extent that a sufficient number of meritorious grant 
applications have not been received for a fiscal year. 
(h) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit to 
the Committee on Science and Technology of the House 
of Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report de-
scribing the distribution of the institutions from which in-
dividuals have participated in the Faculty Early Career
Development Program since fiscal year 2001 among each 
of the categories of institutions of higher education de-
fined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement 
of Teaching and the organizations in subsection (c)(2). 
(i) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit 
to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House 
of Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report evalu-
ating the impact of the program carried out under this 
section on the ability of young faculty to compete for Na-
tional Science Foundation research grants. 
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY EARLY CAREER AWARDS 
FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH-
ERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 
Science of the Department of Energy shall carry out a 
program to award grants to scientists and engineers at 
the early stage of their careers at institutions of higher 
education and organizations described in subsection (c)(2) 
to conduct research in fields relevant to the mission of the 
Department, giving priority to grants to expand domestic 
energy production and use through coal-to-liquids tech-
nology and advanced nuclear reprocessing.
(b) SIZE AND DURATION OF AWARD.—The duration 
of awards under this section shall be up to 5 years, and 
the amount per year shall be at least $80,000. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—Award recipients shall be individ-
uals who are employed in a tenure-track position as an 
assistant professor or equivalent title, or who hold an 
equivalent position, at— 
(1) an institution of higher education in the 
United States; or 
(2) an organization in the United States that is 
a nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organiza-
tion such as a museum, observatory, or research lab-
oratory. 
(d) SELECTION.— Award recipients shall be selected 
on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis. 
(e) SELECTION
PROCESS
AND
CRITERIA
FOR 
AWARDS.—An applicant seeking funding under this sec-
tion shall submit a proposal to the Director of the Office 
of Science at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Director may require. In evalu-
ating the proposals submitted under this section, the Di-
rector shall consider, at a minimum— 
(1) the intellectual merit of the proposed work; 
(2) the innovative or transformative nature of 
the proposed research;