The National Science Foundation (NSF) has invested $150 million in 307 early-career engineering and computer science faculty to solve research challenges.

Over the next five years, this year's awardees will receive up to $500,000 each to build a scientific footing and serve as academic role models in research and education.

The NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program, which extends across all the agency's science and engineering directorates, allows junior faculty to pursue research while simultaneously advancing excellence from intelligent infrastructure and collaborative robots to secure communications and brain-related technologies.

More than 20 percent of engineering and computer science CAREER awardees are women and about 8 percent are from underrepresented groups, according to self-reported proposal data.

"NSF is committed to helping academic scientists and engineers launch careers of discovery and leadership," said Dawn Tilbury, head of NSF's Engineering (ENG) directorate. "With NSF CAREER awards, junior STEM faculty have the opportunity to tackle important and unique research challenges and to make our country's future healthier, safer and more prosperous."

This year's awardees in engineering and computer science hail from 120 institutions across 43 states.

"We're delighted to support this cadre of early career researchers as they embark on long-term research and education activities that will advance the frontiers of our field," said Erwin Gianchandani, acting assistant director for NSF's Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate. "These early career faculty will catalyze new breakthroughs in computer and information science and engineering that will transform our nation in the years to come."