UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) is accepting proposals from Penn State faculty for the next round of the ICDS Rising Researcher Collaborations Funding Opportunity, which will provide support from July 2026 to June 2027. The program aims to foster interdisciplinary collaborations among early-career researchers and seasoned faculty members.
Faculty should submit one or more proposals by the deadline of Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, via InfoReady.
All Penn State faculty, including tenure and non-tenure line, are encouraged to submit short proposals that have a strong connection to the ICDS mission and are focused on one or more of the core research focuses of the institute: artificial intelligence, quantum, computational or data sciences or digital twins.
In February, prospective rising researchers — current graduate students who have already passed their comprehensive exams before the project start date and current or incoming postdoctoral scholars and non-tenure line faculty — will be able to review and apply to projects proposed by faculty members.
Penn State faculty do not have to be affiliated with ICDS to submit a proposal but should include in their proposal how the project would help them engage with and advance the ICDS mission and vision of using advanced computational and data science approaches to address questions of scientific and societal importance.
Proposals can also be related to research of an existing student or postdoc if the project has a distinctive cross- or interdisciplinary component. Faculty may also include in their proposals any desired or required qualifications for the project.
Through this program, ICDS seeks to build a larger community of researchers working on innovative projects, while providing opportunities for mentorship and career development in computational and data sciences domains.
Rising researchers and selected faculty will form a cohort with shared interests in applying advanced computational and statistical methods to a diverse range research problems or questions. The cohort will also have the opportunity to attend and engage in professional development opportunities such as seminars, ICDS training and workshops throughout the academic year.
Last year’s program supported 47 faculty and staff principal investigators and 56 rising researchers across eight colleges and three Penn State campuses. Of that cohort, 14 faculty were co-hires advising 23 rising researchers, and 15 rising researchers contributed to more than one project. For the coming year, ICDS aims to increase the number of rising researchers contributing to multiple research groups.
“The ICDS Rising Researchers program has been widely successful in enabling impactful projects applying computational and data sciences techniques to a diverse range of disciplines,” said Guido Cervone, ICDS director. “In last year’s cohort, rising researchers and faculty members worked together and applied innovative methodologies to better understand the impacts of extreme weather events, to prevent health risks, to enhance road safety and to analyze human and social dynamics. As the program continues, it is our goal to support more early-career researchers in their endeavors in making real impacts on society.”
Program participants can request support from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. ICDS will support graduate students with stipends equivalent to a graduate research assistantship at the pay grade typical for the student’s department and stage of progress towards their degree. The institute will also support postdocs and non-tenure line faculty by contributing to their salary. ICDS support does not go towards salary for faculty advisers.
To find complete details, visit the ICDS website. Faculty should submit their proposals via InfoReady.