Call for Proposals: Kempner Institute Accelerator Awards

Overview

The Kempner Institute is launching a pilot program to provide Kempner AI Cluster access to faculty across Harvard University working to understand the nature of intelligence in natural and artificial systems. 

The Kempner Institute Accelerator Awards program accepts proposals that advance the Kempner’s mission to understand intelligence. Specifically:

• Projects that elucidate the foundations of intelligence: mathematical and computational models of intelligence, cognitive theories of intelligence, and the neurobiological basis of intelligence.
• Projects which lead to new AI/ML methods or applications: research and development of new AI or ML methodologies or models from an engineering perspective, as well as scientific studies focused on understanding deep learning. This includes the development of novel applications of artificial intelligence, covering areas such as LLMs, generative AI models, computational biology, and the analysis of high-dimensional neural and behavioral data.

Projects which are focused on AI applications without a clear demonstration of either advancing novel AI/ML methods or demonstrate novel insight into the AI/ML function and performance of AI/ML algorithms will not be awarded. 

Applications that join the two primary areas of study (e.g., the study of biological intelligence with the development/understanding of new AI/ML methodologies) are of particular interest. This includes using insights from neuroscience to inspire new AI methods as well as using AI/ML to gain a deeper understanding of the brain. 

Opportunity

The Kempner invites proposals from Harvard-affiliated faculty for access to one of the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence clusters. This opportunity is intended for projects that require computing resources at a scale that is otherwise unavailable to the faculty or typically too costly to pursue in a cloud-based environment.  

This is an in-kind award only, no cash funds, financial contributions, or associated fees will be provided. Proposals are expected to support discrete projects which can be completed within the allocated window. The application is not intended to support a laboratory’s research programs or for general laboratory use.

The Kempner AI cluster currently includes:

• 144 NVIDIA A100 40GB GPUs
• 384 NVIDIA H200 141GB GPUs
• Non-blocking NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking, enabling high-speed, large-scale training—ideal for LLMs and other compute-intensive models.

Learn more about the Kempner AI Cluster.

Key Dates

• Aug 4, 2025: Application portal opens
• Sep 29, 2025 1PM EST: Project Proposal submission deadline
• Oct 13, 2025: Invitations sent to submit Technical Readiness section
• Nov 10, 2025 11:59PM: Technical Readiness submission deadline

Eligibility

• All applicants must have a primary, full-time faculty appointment at Harvard University and must be paid by, and run their research operation through, Harvard. The sole exception are faculty paid directly by HHMI who would otherwise meet all other criteria.
• Individuals with hospital-based appointments or research operations and/or non-profit, independent corporations are not eligible. The application is open only to ladder faculty members (assistant professors, associate professors, and professors) with principal investigator rights at a Harvard school.
• Kempner Institute Investigators and Associate Faculty are not eligible to apply. However, we encourage applications from Kempner Affiliate Faculty who otherwise meet the eligibility criteria. 
• Each application should designate one Principal Investigator (PI) as the Coordinating Principal Investigator. Applications that propose collaborative work may also designate a single additional PI (Co-PIs). The Coordinating PI will act as the administrative contact for the Kempner Institute . 
• Co-PIs must be eligible per the terms outlined above.  
• One Harvard: Project teams can include a mixture of faculty, student, staff, and/or postdoctoral fellows. All investigators and project team members listed on the application must have a Harvard email address.
• All investigators and project team members must be eligible for an FAS Research Computing (FASRC) account and must have an active account in order to access the Kempner cluster. For project team members whose school is not an FARSC-affiliated  institution, we will make a good-faith effort to facilitate access. However, access for unaffiliated project team members cannot be guaranteed and is subject to FASRC policies and School approval.  
•  Resource-allocation requests cannot exceed 64 GPUs. All requests must be supported by a clear and well-defined plan. Awarded allocations will be  strictly limited to what is necessary to achieve the specific aims described in the submitted and approved proposal. Use of allocated resources for work beyond that stated in the specific aims is not permitted.
• Projects must adhere to our Open Science Policies. All project artifacts, including any data, code, and model weights used or generated under the award must be made openly and freely available.

Application process

All applications must be completed and submitted through the Accelerator Awards Portal. For detailed information about application requirements, review process, and award dates, visit the application portal through the below link or visit [Detailed Application Instructions] to download complete instructions. 

Check back on August 4, 2025 for a link to the live application. 

Questions?

Contact Janet Wallace, research projects manager, at Janet_Wallace[at]harvard[dot]edu.