NAIRR Program

In the NAIRR Pilot, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the US Department of Energy (DOE), and numerous private and non-profit sector partners are providing an opportunity for the research community to request access to a set of computing, model, platform and educational resources for projects related to advancing AI research. This call for proposals will be open from May 6, 2024, until the end of the NAIRR Pilot program or until all resources have been committed to projects.

Proposals will be reviewed on an ongoing monthly cycle. Requests submitted by the 15th of the month will be reviewed and have their outcome decided by the end of the month. Projects will be awarded for twelve (12) months duration.

Eligibility

This call is open to meritorious proposals by US-based researchers and educators from US-based institutions including academic institutions, non-profits, federal agencies or federally funded R&D centers, state, local, or tribal agencies, startups and small businesses with federal grants. However, the individual resources available via this call may have differing eligibility rules. Assignment of supported proposals will be guided by these constraints.

Note that the email address you provide must be your institutional email. Requests providing personal email addresses such as “.gmail.com” addresses will not be considered.

Focus Areas

This call for allocation proposals encompasses projects covering any of the cross-cutting or domain focus areas for the NAIRR Pilot.

Cross-cutting focus areas:

  • Advancing AI methods that enable scientific discovery.
  • Creating open-source foundation models for specific applications.
  • Using large-scale models to explore complex datasets interactively.
  • Advancing approaches for integrating simulations and AI.
  • Using experimental data from sensors, detectors, or other edge instruments.
  • Empowering use of scientific data by other stakeholders and the public.
  • Training and educating a cohort of scholars in AI technologies and their responsible use.
  • Probe key AI challenges using sensitive data including privacy-preserving methods.

Domain specific focus areas:

  • Accelerating societally-relevant research on AI safety, reliability, security, and privacy.
  • Empowering advances in cancer treatment and individual health outcomes.
  • Supporting resilience and optimization of agricultural, water, and grid infrastructure.
  • Improving design, control, and quality of advanced manufacturing systems.
  • Addressing earth, environmental, and climate challenges via integration of diverse data and models.

Other projects that align with the broader objectives of the NAIRR Pilot, as well as projects in other areas of AI research and applications, may secondarily be considered for allocation.

Available Resources

The set of resources available through the NAIRR Pilot has been expanded to include additional resources funded by federal agencies as well as resources contributed by private and non-profit sector partners. Over time, we expect new resources will be added to the NAIRR Pilot, and some resources may be removed from the pilot as their available contributions are committed to projects.

Researchers are strongly encouraged to review the most up-to-date list of resources, which will always be available via the NAIRR Pilot Resource Catalog.