Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Research Initiation Initiative
This grant supports early-career academicians in computer science at select institutions with limited resources, aiming to broaden computing research capabilities.
This grant was recently cancelled by U.S. National Science Foundation
Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: September 17, 2025 (Full Proposal) | Third Wednesday in September, annually thereafter
Funding Amounts: Up to $175,000 per award for 24 months; ~55–60 awards/year; no cost sharing required
Summary: Supports research independence for early-career computer and information science faculty at non-R1 or non-profit institutions lacking major research resources.
Key Information: Applicants must not have held a federal grant as PI post-PhD and must be at eligible institutions; strict eligibility and submission rules apply.
Description
This program from the NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is designed to help early-career faculty and research scientists in computer and information science and engineering establish research independence, particularly those at institutions with limited research infrastructure. The initiative aims to broaden the set of institutions and investigators engaged in computing research by providing essential resources to launch research careers.
The program is open to untenured, early-career faculty or research scientists (or equivalent) in their first three years in a primary academic position after the PhD (but not more than six years post-PhD), who have not previously received federal funding as a PI. The program is limited to those at institutions that are not classified as "very high research activity" (R1) by the Carnegie Classification, or at non-profit, non-academic organizations.
Awards support exploratory research, preliminary data collection, student mentoring, and the development of collaborations, with the goal of enabling recipients to become competitive for future research funding.
