The School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) is pleased to announce the Fall 2026 Call for Innovation proposals. This endeavor is made possible through the generosity of donors to Princeton, enabling SEAS to offer an assortment of grants to distinguished faculty who work on pioneering and cutting-edge interdisciplinary research across diverse areas, departments and units. The grants will support SEAS initiatives, promote bold research ideas with significant potential for societal impact, and encourage interdisciplinary collaborations encompassing not only SEAS faculty but also colleagues from other academic disciplines. Furthermore, the grants aim to facilitate nascent research, allowing faculty members to generate sufficient preliminary results/data that enhance the chances of securing outside funding, establishing the foundation for securing large external grants, such as an NSF Center.
Innovation research grants are designed to allow faculty members to engage in research that is not easily fundable through standard outside channels, or to provide sufficient preliminary research to enhance chances to secure continued outside funding. Proposals that demonstrate a clear path for outside grant application and that involve new collaborations across SEAS departments and centers and units on campus will be given preferential attention. Grant amount: up to $230K for up to two years of research. Proposals with a budget over $120K require teams of at least two principal investigators.
Research areas of interest include those from both traditional engineering disciplines and interdisciplinary “high-risk-high-reward” efforts.
Proposals should include
- Detailed overview of the proposed research. The overview must be a maximum of three (3) pages and be prepared on standard letter-sized paper (8.5″ × 11″) with 1-inch margins on all sides. The overview must use a minimum font size of 11 points.
- Detailed budget (up to $230K) outlining how the funds will be used. The grant can cover salaries (for graduate students, post-docs, and undergraduate summer stipends, but not faculty summer salaries) and other reasonable research expenditures. No overhead will be charged to these awards. Budgets will be reviewed carefully for reasonable and appropriate expenses.
- Two-page CV and a list of current and pending research support for all team members
Proposals will be reviewed by a faculty committee, and funding decisions will be announced in Spring 2027.
Guidelines
- Faculty members are not eligible to apply for a SEAS Innovation Research Grant if they currently have an active Innovation grant from SEAS.
- At most, each faculty member could have one SEAS innovation research grant and one SEAS seed grant at the same time, provided that the two are on different topics.
- Large proposals over $120K and up to $230K require teams of at least two PIs.
- SEAS expects that funds will be spent according to the proposed budget. Any major change in budget allocation should be discussed in advance with SEAS.
- Extensions (including no-cost extensions) to project duration will not be granted unless exceptional circumstances arise; please choose appropriate research start and end dates during the application process. Please note projects can range from three months to two years.
- Proposals selected for funding will be required to submit a summary report annually to provide an update on research objectives and fund expenditures, as well as a final report at the conclusion of the project, which should also include a description of how the support from the project will be leveraged to pursue outside funding and/or larger proposals.
- Any unspent funds at the end of a project must be returned to SEAS.
- Proposals must include a minimum of one SEAS faculty member. Collaboration with researchers outside SEAS is welcome, as long as a SEAS faculty member is the lead PI on the project.
FAQ
The proposal narrative must be a maximum of three (3) pages for the Innovation Grant and one (1) page for the Seed Grant and be prepared on standard letter-sized paper (8.5″ × 11″) with 1-inch margins on all sides. The proposal must use a minimum font size of 11 points. Any required attachments, references, or supporting materials do not count toward the above-mentioned page limit unless otherwise specified.
No. The bibliographic citations can be in addition to the 1-page detailed overview for the Seed Grant or 3-page overview for the Innovation Grant.
No. Innovation funds can only be used to support Princeton costs.
Each faculty member can submit one Innovation Grant proposal and one Seed
Grant proposal, as long as the two grants are for different research topics.
No. Faculty may not be listed on multiple proposals regardless of their status on the proposal they submitted.
An associate research scholar, with an appointment through SEAS, would be eligible to serve as PI/co-PI, as long as a minimum of one SEAS faculty member is included in the proposal. If graduate students are involved in the project, a faculty member or other individual authorized to supervise graduate students must fulfill the appropriate advising responsibilities. The submitting department needs to ensure compliance with this policy.
The SEAS faculty member would have to be the lead PI as funding for SEAS Innovation Grants can only be issued to faculty members holding full or joint SEAS appointments. Additionally, in rare cases, and only at the request of the lead PI (SEAS appointed) and after approval by the Vice Dean, a portion of the approved funding could be transferred/carved out for a non-SEAS PI serving as co-PI.
Yes. A faculty member who holds a joint appointment with a SEAS entity is considered a SEAS faculty member and is eligible to submit a proposal.
No. Associated faculty cannot be a PI. SEAS faculty would serve as the lead PI, as funding for the Innovation and Seed Grants can only be issued to faculty holding full or joint SEAS appointments.
No. Visiting faculty cannot serve as PIs on Innovation or Seed Grant proposals.
No. Postdoctoral research associates cannot be listed as co-PIs on Innovation or Seed Grant proposals. They can be listed on the proposal as senior personnel, but they cannot be listed as co-PIs.
No. According to program guidelines, any active grant disqualifies an application for a new grant in the current cycle.
No. Submitting the same proposal for two different funding sources is not permitted.
Yes. Full-time lecturers, professors of the practice, and instructors with a SEAS appointment, can apply and serve as PI/co-PI on Innovation and Seed Grant proposals, consistent with the University’s eligibility requirements for qualifying as PI/co-PI on sponsored research projects.
A faculty member with an outstanding final report for a prior award may submit a proposal, but a review of their proposal and any funding decisions will be contingent on the prior award report being received by December 31 of the year the current Innovation and Seed Grants are announced.
Submission
The proposal submission deadline is Monday, November 30, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET.