Division of Physics: Investigator-Initiated Research Projects (PHY)

The Division of Physics (PHY) supports physics research and the preparation of future scientists in the nation's colleges and universities across a broad range of physics disciplines that span scales of space and time from the largest to the smallest and the oldest to the youngest. The Division is comprised of disciplinary programs covering experimental and theoretical research in major subfields of physics: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics; Elementary Particle Physics; Gravitational Physics; Integrative Activities in Physics; Nuclear Physics; Particle Astrophysics; Physics at the Information Frontier; Physics of Living Systems; Plasma Physics; and Quantum Information Science. PHY supports fundamental research across the intellectual frontiers of physics, research that has broader impacts on other fields of science and on the health, economic strength, and defense of society, and enhances workforce preparation at all levels. Modes of support include single investigator awards, group awards, centers and institutes, some interdisciplinary in nature, and several national user facilities, as well as research equipment/instrumentation development grants and mid-scale research infrastructure awards.