Information, Computation, and Thermodynamics in Biology
Supports interdisciplinary research into how living systems process information and energy, uniting biology, physics, chemistry, and computational sciences within an information-theoretic and thermodynamic framework.
Funder: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Due Dates: September 15, 2026 (full application deadline; applications open July 1, 2026)
Funding Amounts: Seed grants for one-year collaborative projects; typical team awards range from $50,000–$60,000 per team.
Summary: Supports interdisciplinary research on how living systems process information and energy, uniting biology, physics, chemistry, computational sciences, and informatics.
Key Information: For early career faculty in the US/Canada; proposals must be team-based and formed during the Scialog meeting.
Description
This opportunity supports innovative, interdisciplinary research at the intersection of nonequilibrium physics, information theory, and molecular biology. The program aims to advance our understanding of living organisms as information engines—entities that sense, store information, compute, and act within energetic constraints in fluctuating environments. It brings together early career faculty from fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, synthetic biology, and AI-driven informatics to foster collaborative projects that leverage experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches rooted in information theoretic and thermodynamic frameworks.
The initiative (Scialog: Information, Computation, and Thermodynamics in Biology, 2027–2029) is designed to break down disciplinary barriers and stimulate new collaborations and high-risk, high-reward research. Approximately 50 early career faculty will be selected as Fellows to participate in intensive discussions, team formation, and proposal development during an annual meeting.
