Eager: nairr pilot expansion: FA1: sustainable research pathways for nairr (SRP-nairr)

Sustainable Horizons Institute received $299,896 in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program (CFDA 47.070) beginning June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2027. This EAGER (Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research) award supports the Sustainable Research Pathways for NAIRR (SRP-NAIRR) initiative, which expands access to the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot launched in January 2024. The project delivers an innovative, evidence-based workforce development program that matches NAIRR researchers with faculty and students from diverse academic institutions to establish collaborative research relationships, particularly targeting participants from institutions with limited prior engagement in NSF research.

The primary deliverable is a structured 10-week onsite summer research experience that culminates in the presentation of research results at national professional society conferences. This pilot program is designed to cultivate artificial intelligence talent capable of addressing national research challenges while democratizing access to advanced AI research infrastructure across a broader spectrum of academic institutions. The high-risk, high-reward initiative aims to establish new paradigms for expanding NAIRR accessibility, advancing trustworthy AI development, and increasing diversity in AI research perspectives. No subawards are planned for this project.

Abstract

The national artificial intelligence research resource (nairr) pilot was launched in january 2024 to provide a shared national research infrastructure to bridge the GAP in access to artificial intelligence (AI) resources to conduct research and train the next generation of researchers. The nairr pilot is designed to spur innovation, increase the pool of talent, improve capacity, and advance safe, secure, and trustworthy AI in research and society. The project aims to build strong connections among the existing nairr researchers and institutions and individual participants across the U.S., especially those who would not typically engage in NSF research. This project is an innovative, evidence-based program aimed at expanding access to nairr by matching nairr researchers with a small cohort of faculty and students from a variety of academic institutions to establish research collaborations through a 10-week onsite summer experience followed by the presentation of results at a national professional society conference. This pilot project represents a high-risk and high-reward effort to establish new ways of cultivating AI talent poised to address the nation's pressing challenges. While the proposed approach is novel and untested in the NSF community, IT can develop into a new paradigm for expanding access to nairr while making significant progress in making AI accessible to all and providing a broader spectrum of perspectives for creating new AI models and methods. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.