Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) 2023-24
Call for New Initiatives in Artificial Intelligence

 

The Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) is seeking to fund several teams of academic or research faculty to facilitate the creation of new interdisciplinary research initiatives. In keeping with IDEaS FY24 thematic focus on AI, this call broadly targets the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications, including but not limited to: Foundational topics in AI; cyberinfrastructure for AI; AI-driven research in sciences, engineering, finance, humanities, and the arts; ethics and societal implications of AI; and shaping public policy and establishing research standards/benchmarks. The grants are meant to better position Georgia Tech to perform world-class interdisciplinary research in data science and artificial intelligence and to compete for externally funded multi-PI grants. Proposals with topics or significant collaborations that are relevant to another Interdisciplinary Research Institute (https://research.gatech.edu/interdisciplinary-research-institutes) are also welcome, and may be jointly supported. Such proposals will be funded under the “AI + priority area” theme, and the following priority areas apply for co-funding with IRIs partnering on the call.

  • Climate & sustainability science, solutions, and policy (BBISS)
  • Digital twin development for manufacturing systems and processes; Real-Time / Near Real-Time modeling and control of manufacturing processes (GTMI)
  • Analysis and mining of omics data (IBB)
  • Proposals aligning with IMaT research initiatives and coordinated with the corresponding initiative lead(s) (https://research.gatech.edu/institute-materials-announces-initiative-leads-2023-24-academic-year; IMaT)
  • AI for humanities, social sciences, and the arts; responsible and sustainable AI (IPaT)
  • Energy in the information age - the convergence of networked, digital systems with physical energy infrastructure (SEI)

Each awarded team is expected to carry out activities such as: identifying prominent emerging research directions on the topic of the initiative, shaping IDEaS future strategy in the initiative area, building an inclusive and active community of GT researchers that potentially includes external collaborators, identifying and preparing groundwork for competing in large-scale grant opportunities, and building programs that involve outreach to industry. Addressing a subset of these objectives is sufficient, and other activities that fall within the broader theme of the call are welcome. Each team will receive a grant of $15K that will be awarded to the PI or a team of two co-PIs who will lead the initiative. The funding can be flexibly used to organize team-building workshops, travel, student support, summer support, or other allowable expenses relevant to the proposed initiative. Initiatives should include faculty with all the relevant expertise needed to make the initiative a success. IDEaS will further support these initiatives with access to its core facilities and through logistical support. Initiative leads will meet with IDEaS leadership on a quarterly basis to review progress. Continued support beyond one year is possible based on progress and needs, and contingent on availability of funding.

To apply, please submit a single pdf document consisting of a vision statement for the initiative (up to 2 pages), including likely key faculty participants and their home units, and a CV for each of the 1-2 initiative leads, by 5pm on September 22nd, to christa.ernst@research.gatech.edu with the topic of the proposal in the subject line.The vision statement should explain why Georgia Tech should invest in the proposed area, how it differs from existing initiatives (if relevant) and expected activities and outcomes (including possible targets for funding opportunities).

Please direct any questions to IDEaS Associate Directors David Sherrill (sherrill@gatech.edu) and Xiaoming Huo (huo@gatech.edu). For questions related to co-funding with partner IRIs, contact Srinivas Aluru (aluru@cc.gatech.edu).