Science Hub Research Opportunities: Call for Applications
Science Hub Research Opportunities: Call for Applications
MIT and Amazon launched the Science Hub in October 2021 to advance the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Hosted by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, the Science Hub seeks proposals for innovative projects aimed at developing AI tools and technologies that will have a positive impact on society.
Current Funding Key Dates:
Call for Applications for Gift Research Projects
All MIT researchers with Principal Investigators status can apply. We welcome applications from diverse candidates including those historically underrepresented in the engineering, computing and mathematics.
Topics include:
– AI & Robotics, including the following topics: human supervisor control; human-machine interaction in the field of robotics; sustainable packaging, materials science; neuromorphic computing
– Conversational AI and Natural Language Processing
– Video understanding
– Database and distributed systems; automated reasoning.
Application has closed
- Submission Deadline:
March 24, 2023 by 5:00 PM ET - Notification of Awards:
Between May and June 2023 - Start of Project:
August/September 2023
More details about the application process and timeline are below. Questions can be directed to sciencehub@mit.edu
The Science Hub provides three funding mechanisms:
- Fellowships for Graduate Students
- Gift-Funded Research Projects
- Sponsored Research Projects
Doctoral Student Fellowships
On a regular basis, the Science Hub will welcome MIT faculty and heads of department to submit nominations for graduate students to be named Amazon Fellows. Selected candidates will receive funding for one semester, or one semester plus summer, to pursue independent research projects at MIT. Awards will usually include funding for tuition, stipend and reasonable research expenses.
The 2022-2023 Call for Proposal will likely be announced in December of 2022.
Areas of focus:
- AI & Robotics
- Conversational AI and Natural Language Processing
Eligibility
MIT PhD students in their second, third, or fourth year in good standing with their academic departments/programs are eligible. MIT department heads nominate candidates.
Nomination Materials
- Student’s research plan (1 page)
- One letter of support from the MIT nominating faculty – please send letter to sciencehub@mit.edu with the students’ name in the subject line.
- Endorsement from the MIT head of department of the academic program of the doctoral student fellowship
Current Funding Key Dates:
- Submissions due: May 2022
- Decisions announced: June 2022
- Funding begins: September 2022
Eligibility
MIT PhD students in their second, third, or fourth year in good standing with their academic departments/programs are eligible. MIT department heads nominate candidates.
Gift-funded Research Projects
The Science Hub welcomes proposals from MIT faculty and research scientists with principal investigator status. Under this funding mechanism, the Science Hub is looking for cutting edge and exploratory projects for a period of one year. Researchers with approved proposals will receive seed funding up to $70k. Awards are structured as unrestricted gifts to the principal investigator. Seed funding is meant to develop innovative basic or use-inspired research direction in one or more fields related to Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, including their societal impacts. Seed projects may have the potential for renewal for additional funding, or may lead to sponsored research funding with one or more Amazon units.
The 2022-2023 Call for Proposal will likely be announced in December of 2022.
Eligibility
The Science Hub welcomes research proposals from MIT faculty and researchers with principal investigator (PI) status across all departments at MIT.
Application Materials
- Project proposal (2-3 pages): title, short abstract, keywords, significance of the research and prior work, technical approach, expected results (e.g. publications, open source codes, or datasets). Note: Budget is a line listing amount, and personnel and materials needed, not a table.
- One page CV for the main PI, as well as for the main collaborators.
Current Funding Key Dates:
- Submissions due: December 15, 2021 – 5 PM EST
- Decisions announced: Spring 2022
- Funding begins: Spring 2022
Submissions are currently not being accepted. The funding cycle will reopen in 2022.
Eligibility
The Science Hub welcomes research proposals from MIT faculty and researchers with principal investigator (PI) status across all departments at MIT.
Sponsored Research Projects
The Science Hub welcomes faculty proposals for basic research or use-inspired research, including direct and timely applications to ongoing interests at Amazon, or longer-term research and development. Recipients may be matched with Amazon researchers for direct collaboration. Call for sponsored research projects operate on a continuous basis.
NOTE: This funding call is not open at this time.
Send us a message at sciencehub@mit.edu to be added to our mailing list and receive updates about events and calls for proposals.
Call for Fellowship Awards Now Open
On a regular basis, the Science Hub will welcome MIT faculty and heads of department to submit nominations for graduate students to be named Amazon Fellows. Selected candidates will receive funding for one semester, or one semester plus summer, to pursue independent research projects at MIT. Awards will usually include funding for tuition, stipend and reasonable research expenses.
Please contact your department head for nomination materials. Submission deadline is April 18, 2023