Dean for Research Innovation Funds

Dean for Research Innovation Fund 2023 report cover
PDF or online

Fostering discovery

Recognizing that unconventional or untested ideas can be difficult to fund through conventional sources, the University created the Dean for Research Innovation Funds to make such explorations possible.

These competitive innovation funds encourage faculty to explore bold new ideas in the humanities, social
sciences, natural sciences and engineering, as
well as foster collaborations between artists
and scientists or engineers, and enable new
industrial collaborations to tackle real-world
challenges.

Learn about previously funded projects in our report, Dean for Research Innovation Funds 2014-2023 (PDF or online), issued June 22, 2023, surveying the impact of the first ten years of the program. 

Explore the opportunities below to find fund descriptions, summaries of winning projects, and submission deadlines.

New Ideas in the Natural Sciences
Supports the exploration of early stage, high-potential ideas with the goal of eventually submitting a competitive external proposal.
New Industrial Collaborations
Fosters research collaborations between industry and academia, helping identify challenges and aiding the transformation of discoveries.
Collaborations between Artists and Scientists or Engineers
Brings faculty in seemingly unrelated fields together in ways that expand their respective domains and benefit both disciplines.
New Ideas in the Humanities
Encourages innovative scholarship on original theories as well as enduring questions.
New Ideas in the Social Sciences
Promotes scholarship and explorations of society and human advancement.
Sustainability of Our Planet
Supports research focused on discovering, developing and adopting sustainable solutions.
Exploratory Energy Research

Supports fundamental, open-ended research on energy solutions.