Thought Summits Call for Proposals
Application Deadline: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Thought Summits on Data Science and AI
“Thought Summits” are a Cornell forum aimed at identifying and developing inter- and intra- institutional collaborations in the novel areas of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. We envision a Thought Summit as a fully-funded 3-5 day symposium hosted at Cornell, where a core of Cornell faculty can interact with about 20 external experts and leaders from academia, government, industry, and/or non-profit organizations. Thought Summits are meant to identify new and exciting areas of research, and they produce a whitepaper that can be viewed as a first step towards multi-institutional, large-scale, external funding opportunities that merge methodological innovations in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence with compelling applications.
Thought Summits on Data Science are funded by the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society. Thought Summits on Artificial Intelligence are funded by the Cornell AI Initiative. We expect to fund multiple Thought Summits in the current application cycle.
All Cornell University faculty are invited to apply.
Can a PI or Co-PI apply for more than one Thought Summit per call?
No. PIs, Co-PIs (aka collaborators) can only participate in one Thought Summit per call.
What time frame does the Thought Summit need to occur?
The Thought Summit should take place from July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027.
Proposal Details
Key Dates
Submissions open soon: February 18, 2026
Submission deadline: April 8, 2026
Who May Apply?
All Cornell University faculty are invited to apply. Ideally, proposals will be from one primary PI and 2-3 co-PIs, representing at least three different departments. A faculty member can participate in at most one proposal for this call.
Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research initiatives are especially encouraged.
Proposals are reviewed by both the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society and by the Cornell AI Initiative. Funding is allocated based on thematic fit and availability of funds.
Proposal Process
Please submit the below materials using the submission FORM. Unfortunately, we cannot accept incomplete or late submissions. The following materials should be submitted:
1. Contact Information for PI and co-PIs
2. Project Proposal (two-page maximum, single spaced, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman).
3. Tentative list of Cornell faculty that will be invited to participate.
4. Tentative list of potential external participants (should include peer academic institutions, NGO’s, government organizations, and/or industry)
5. Potential dates for the thought summit (provide 3 options)
6. Budget outline
7. CVs for PI and co-PIs (two-page, NSF biosketch style format) or a link to a personal website
Funding and Terms
$30,000- $50,000
The funds are mainly intended to help cover travel expenses and accommodation for the external participants, as well as other event expenses (food, conference space, etc). No salary, summer salary, or funds for research assistantship should be included in the budget. 20% of the funding will cover indirect costs of the unit that provides administrative staff support for organizing the Thought Summit.
Criteria for Thought Summits
Funding determinations will be assessed based on the criteria below. Please consider addressing these questions in your proposal.
1. How does the theme for the summit merge methodological innovations in data science and/or artificial intelligence with compelling applications?
2. How is the project necessarily inter- and/or trans-disciplinary?
3. What is the mechanism you will use to record notes and outcomes from the sessions, and for producing a public whitepaper (potentially allocating some budget to support this)?
4. What is the intended follow-up for this project to obtain future funds, especially plans to submit to large-scale funding opportunities?
5. Describe the project’s potential contributions to Cornell’s founding principle …any person …any study.
6. All projects must be relevant to advancing data science and/or artificial intelligence as a field.
7. The location of Thought Summits sponsored by the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society is the Ithaca main campus. For Thought Summits sponsored by the AI Initiative, the campus location will be determined in collaboration with the AI Initiative based on topic and objectives.
Additional Questions
For questions concerning your proposal, please contact info@thoughtsummits.cornell.edu
Award Recipient Guidelines
Planning
The host/award recipient of the event is responsible for the planning and logistics of the Thought Summit. This includes travel arrangements, hotel reservations, lecture room reservations, receptions, and any other event logistics. Unless indirect costs for administration and event support can be covered in some other way, 20% of the overall budget goes to the unit that provides administrative staff support to cover indirect costs.
The final date of the Thought Summit will be selected from the dates proposed by the applicant, in coordination with the award recipients. Please note: event space is often difficult to secure while classes or final exams are in session, so we encourage applicants to consider dates outside the academic semester—during breaks or in the weeks just before classes begin or just after they end. This is a recommendation, not a requirement.
The PI (and core planners) will meet regularly with the relevant awarding unit to review progress and key planning objectives.
The Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society and the Cornell AI Initiative will help promote the Thought Summit via their websites, e-list, affiliated departments, and social media. Each summit will feature a dedicated landing page on the Thought Summits website. This centralized hub will serve as a primary promotional tool and resource for updates regarding content, speakers, itineraries, sponsors, attendees etc.
Post Thought Summit
After your Summit is complete you will be required to:
1. Provide a 2-page written evaluation of the Thought Summit within 2 weeks of the event.
2. Conduct a final meeting with the awarding unit for debrief within 2 weeks of the event.
3. Submit a whitepaper within 2 months of the Thought Summit.
For questions concerning your proposal, please contact
info@thoughtsummits.cornell.edu