With the support of the Office of the Provost, Princeton Language and Intelligence (PLI) is pleased to announce the first-year call for proposals for the PLI Seed Grant Program. Grants will help enable and support use of large AI models in a variety of academic disciplines in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Engineering. A typical grant supports research, but proposals were also awarded that will lead to new research infrastructure, formulation of new research directions, better-trained workforce etc.
PI Eligibility
All Princeton faculty. A faculty member can participate on at most two proposals.
Program Size
Up to \$800,00 was distributed for year 1. Seed grants fell into three buckets: \$0-30K, \$31-60K, and \$61-110K, and will be used up by August 31, 2025 (projects may finish sooner).
Review Criteria
The PLI Executive Committee evaluated the proposals on the basis of:
- Quality, originality, and potential impact (on the campus and/or the field of study)
- Feasibility of achieving project goals
- Likelihood that the research outcomes (if any) will be widely disseminated (i.e., journals, media outlets etc.).
- Likelihood that the project is not a one-off and will lead to a string of positive outcomes or other funding.
Reporting Requirements
Funded proposals will be required to submit a final report. Awardees agree to contribute a blog post about their project for the PLI Blog. Additionally, a story about the project and its progress may be used more generally by PLI/Princeton.
About PLI
Princeton Language and Intelligence (PLI) seeks to develop fundamental understanding of large AI models; enable their application to research and education across academic disciplines; and study societal and ethical implications of AI as well as develop methods to avert any harms. PLI is committed to promoting AI expertise and know-how in the public sphere. Member faculty hail from more than a dozen departments, representing the sciences, humanities, social sciences, and engineering.