Kempner Institute Announces 2026 Accelerator Awards Request for Proposals
Award provides Kempner AI Cluster access to faculty across Harvard pursuing intelligence research
Network switches inside one of the H100 nodes in the Kempner Institute's AI Cluster. Recipients of the accelerator awards receive cluster computing resources at a scale that is otherwise unavailable to faculty and typically too costly to pursue in a cloud-based environment.
Photo: Deborah Apsel Lang
Cambridge, MA– The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University is pleased to announce the 2026 Kempner Institute Accelerator Awards request for proposals.
The award program, now in its second year, provides Kempner AI Cluster access to faculty across Harvard who are pursuing research in line with the Kempner Institute’s mission to understand the nature of intelligence in natural and artificial systems.
Recipients of the accelerator awards will have access to the Kempner AI Cluster to undertake advanced computational research using one of the largest and most powerful academic AI clusters in the world. This includes in-kind allocations of Kempner AI Cluster access to up to 64 GPUs for up to 30 days.
With the Kempner’s accelerator awards program, the institute aims to expand the reach and impact its resources, providing groundbreaking researchers in labs and departments across Harvard University with the opportunity to leverage the powerful technology of the Kempner AI cluster, advancing the state of the art of the field of intelligence.
In particular, the award committee welcomes proposals in the following areas, provided they meet the criteria outlined in the RFP:
- 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: projects with clearly defined methodological, analytical, or performance advances. This includes new AI/ML methods with explicit evaluation benchmarks, scalable applications that demonstrate methodological novelty, and rigorous studies that generate insight into how AI/ML systems function.
Applications for the accelerator awards will open April 14, 2025. Please visit the Kempner Institute website to see eligibility requirements and application details.
About the Kempner
The Kempner Institute seeks to understand the basis of intelligence in natural and artificial systems by recruiting and training future generations of researchers to study intelligence from biological, cognitive, engineering, and computational perspectives. Its bold premise is that the fields of natural and artificial intelligence are intimately interconnected; the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) will require the same principles that our brains use for fast, flexible natural reasoning, and understanding how our brains compute and reason can be elucidated by theories developed for AI. Join the Kempner mailing list to learn more, and to receive updates and news.
PRESS CONTACT:
Deborah Apsel Lang | (617) 495-7993
kempnercommunications@harvard.edu
