Collaborative Seed Funding Grant

The Collaborative Seed Funding Grant program, sponsored by the School of Data Science, is an initiative that supports innovative projects that advance knowledge and solutions in AI Security and Safety by fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations. The primary goal of these awards is to assemble data that can seed extramural funding and advance the SDS mission.
Targeted Research:

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force with capabilities in generating realistic text, videos, and code, while also posing significant security challenges. This program targets research addressing issues such as data integrity, intellectual property theft, and ethical decision-making in AI.

Collaboration Requirement:

Proposals must include two SDS Core Faculty or Faculty Affiliates as Principal Investigators (PIs), each from different UTSA departments. Preference will be given to assistant or associate professors aiming to advance their research careers in AI security and safety.

Eligibility:
  • The PI must be a UTSA tenure-track or tenured SDS core faculty member.
  • PIs may only submit one proposal as the designated PI but may serve as a senior investigator (SI) on multiple applications.
Award Information:
  • Maximum total funding per project: $30,000
  • Expected number of awards: 3
  • Performance Period: July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024
Timeline:
  • Request for Proposals Released: May 15, 2024
  • Proposal Deadline: June 3, 2024
  • Awards Announced: June 14, 2024
  • Final Project Report Due: January 31, 2025
Submission Instructions:

Proposals must be submitted via the Office of Research InfoReady Site by 5:00 PM CST on June 3, 2024.

For detailed guidelines and submission instructions, please click here to download the program description PDF.