Cornell faculty are invited to submit proposals for Thought Summits, a new forum designed to catalyze interdisciplinary research in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) and to position Cornell as a national leader in these rapidly evolving fields. Proposals will be accepted through June 16. 

Building on the success of this year’s three data science Thought Summits, the Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society (CDSES) is partnering with the Cornell AI Initiative to expand the reach and impact of these dynamic collaborations. The upcoming Thought Summits will be fully funded three-to-five-day symposia hosted on Cornell’s Ithaca campus. Each summit will convene a core group of Cornell faculty and approximately 20 external experts from academia, government, industry and nonprofit sectors to explore innovative, collaborative research directions.

Multiple summits will be awarded with funding ranging from $30,000 to $50,000 per summit, primarily to support travel, lodging, meals and other logistics for external participants.

“We have incredible strength in AI and data science across Cornell, and the Thought Summits are meant to crystalize this strength into exciting collaborations in areas where we can lead,” said AI Initiative Director Thorsten Joachims, interim dean of the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor in computing and information science.

The goal of each summit is to generate a public whitepaper that identifies promising research opportunities and lays the groundwork for large-scale, multi-institutional funding proposals.

“By linking the Data Science and AI Radical Collaborations in this way, the new cooperative structure will broaden the impact of the Thought Summits in highlighting Cornell’s role in shaping emerging directions in this rapidly advancing discipline,” said David Shmoys, director of CDSES and the Laibe/Acheson Professor of Business Management and Leadership Studies in Cornell Engineering.

All full-time Cornell faculty are eligible to apply. Proposals should come from teams of at least three faculty members from three different departments. Faculty may participate in only one proposal. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary initiatives are especially encouraged.

Faculty interested in proposing a Thought Summit are encouraged to review the guidelines and submit their proposals on the CDSES website.  

For questions, contact info@thoughtsummits.cornell.edu.

Megan Pillar is the communications specialist for societal systems in Cornell Research & Innovation.