National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes Accelerating Research, Transforming Society, and Growing the American Workforce
Funding Agency:
- National Science Foundation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced tremendously and today promises personalized healthcare; enhanced national security; improved transportation; and more effective education, to name just a few benefits. Increased computing power, the availability of large datasets and streaming data, and algorithmic advances in machine learning (ML) have made it possible for AI research and development to create new sectors of the economy and revitalize industries. Continued advancement, enabled by sustained federal investment and channeled toward issues of national importance, holds the potential for further economic impact and quality-of-life improvements.
The 2019 update to the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan, informed by visioning activities in the scientific community as well as interaction with the public, identifies as its first strategic objective the need to make long-term investments in AI research in areas with the potential for long-term payoffs in AI. The National AI Research Institutes program enables longer-term research and U.S. leadership in AI through the creation of AI Research Institutes.
This program is a joint government effort between the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), U.S. Department of Education (ED) Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (DOD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)), and IBM Corporation (IBM).
This program solicitation expands upon the nationwide network established by the first 18 AI Research Institutes to pursue transformational advances in a range of economic sectors, and science and engineering fields. In this round, the program invites proposals for institutes that have a principal focus in one of the following themes, detailed in the Program Description:
- Theme 1: Intelligent Agents for Next-Generation Cybersecurity
- Theme 2: Neural and Cognitive Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
- Theme 3: AI for Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry
- Theme 4: AI for Decision making
- Theme 5: Trustworthy AI
- Theme 6: AI-Augmented Learning to Expand Education Opportunities and Improve Outcomes
Limit on number of proposals per organization: 2
Internal Review: If you plan to submit a proposal for this grant opportunity, please submit an internal white paper with the following sections for internal review to Atam Dhawan at dhawan@njit.edu by December 1, 2021:
- Project Summary with Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact
- List of Key Investigators (with affiliations and project roles)
- Preliminary Budget Outline
- Cost-Sharing and Resources Needed
Standard or Continuing Grants
$140,000,000 (for 7 awards)
January 14, 2022
May 13, 2022
AI Research Institutes Program Team, telephone: (703) 292-5111, email: AIInstitutesProgram@nsf.gov