The Cornell Center for Social Sciences (CCSS) offers multiple grants to help Cornell faculty maximize their research impact. These awards help seed ambitious projects and provide support to teams of faculty applying to major external funding and collaboration opportunities. The fall grant recipients have targeted more than $50 million in external research funding. 

“As part of the broader Research & Innovation ecosystem, CCSS plays a key role in catalyzing cross-disciplinary partnerships that combine bold, innovative ideas with strategic vision to address complex societal challenges, as seen in the proposals funded this cycle,” said Natalie Bazarova, associate vice provost for research and professor of communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 

In total, CCSS funded 23 projects this fall to faculty in 11 departments across nine colleges and schools at Cornell. 

“Since 2020, CCSS grants and fellowships have seeded more than $40 million in external research funding,” said Peter Enns, the Robert S. Harrison Director of CCSS. “These fall CCSS grants have the potential to double that amount. Cornell faculty continue to positively impact society through their research, and CCSS is extremely proud to support these ambitious efforts.”  

Details on faculty and projects supported by the three CCSS programs: Seed Grants, Grant Preparation Funds, and Accelerated Research Grants follow. 

Fall 2025 Grant Preparation Fund awardees 

The Grant Preparation Fund program recently funded four projects across three colleges, supporting the administrative portion of large-scale, multi-million-dollar proposals to government agencies, industry partners, foundations, and nonprofit organizations. The program is the center’s newest and largest funding opportunity, designed to help Cornell researchers prepare competitive proposals that extend the reach of social science across institutions and disciplines. 

"CCSS support is pivotal for preparing highly competitive proposals to federal agencies and major philanthropies, and will enable us to pursue an ambitious research agenda on building an AI-ready workforce across K–12, higher education, and adult learning systems,” said René Kizilcec, associate professor of information science in the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and director of the Future of Learning Lab. 

“This investment will be instrumental, significantly strengthening our ability to secure large-scale external funding and to advance research with real impact for educators and communities." 

Building a Cornell Center for Strengthening Information Ecosystems 
PIs: Clair Wardle and Lee Humphreys (Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), Mor Naaman and Alexios Mantzarlis (Cornell Tech), and David Scales (Weill Medical College of Cornell University) 

Towards a National Infrastructure of Federated Private Computation Spaces 
PIs: Sara Emery and Steven Wolf (Agriculture and Life Sciences), Hakim Weatherspoon and Immanuel Trummer (Cornell Bowers), and Renata Ivanek (Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine) 

Building an AI-Ready Workforce: Integrating K–12, Postsecondary, and Workforce Systems for the Age of AI  
PIs: Rene Kizilcec, Rachel Slama (Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science), Steven Jackson (Cornell Bowers and College of Arts and Sciences), and JR Keller (Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations) 

Play for All: Advancing Research and Funding Opportunities for Play and Play Environments to Support Children’s Healthy Development 
PIs: Janet Loebach, Laura Bellows, and Kim Kopko (Cornell University College of Human Ecology) 

Fall 2025 Accelerated Research Grant awardee 

The Accelerated Research Grants program supports major proposal renewals and resubmissions, including two-phase projects. Funding these projects, including the following recently awarded proposal, helps researchers sustain long-term investigations and maintain the momentum needed to secure external funding.  

“Mapping Structural Poverty, Ecosystem Services, and Climate Risks in East African Countries Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning” 
PIs: Elizabeth Tennant and Christopher B. Barrett (SC Johnson College), and Yun Yang (Agriculture and Life Sciences) 

Fall 2025 Seed Grant awardees 

The Seed Grant program recently funded 18 projects across eight colleges, supporting faculty who are launching new collaborations, gathering preliminary data, and positioning proposals for external funding or partnerships. Seed Grants provide up to $12,000 in research support 

“Perceptions of prescribed burns in urban natural areas” 
PI: Aaron Sexton (Agriculture and Life Sciences) 

“The New Gay Science: Tracing the Social Lives of Sexuality Statistics from Diagnosis to Demographic” 
PI: Jamie Budnick (College of Arts and Sciences) 

“Twice A Stranger: China, The United States, and Trans-Pacific Travelers” 
 PI: Mara Du (Arts and Sciences) 

“Facilitating Early Communicative Development through a Museum-Based Parenting Intervention” 
PI: Michael Goldstein (Arts and Sciences) 

“When Tradition Travels: Customary Institutions in Pakistan’s Largest City” 
PI: Sarah Thompson (Arts and Sciences) 

“Online/Offline Differences in Survey Treatment Effectiveness: Can Chatbots Bridge the Divide?” 
PI: Amanda Weiss (Arts and Sciences) 

“How norms and morality constrain what we imagine” 
PI: Jordan Wylie (Arts and Sciences) 

“Understanding Privacy Boundaries in Wireless Sensing of Vital Signs by Smart Devices” 
 PI: Rajalakshmi Nandakumar (Cornell Bowers) 

“Bridging the Conversational AI Gap: Synthetic Dataset Generation for Engineering Education Dialogue” 
PI: Alexandra Werth (Cornell University College of Engineering) 

"Why Do Adolescents Eat What They Eat? A Qualitative Study of Food Practices in Bangladesh” 
PI: John Hoddinott (Human Ecology) 

“Learning by Design: Investigating Impact of Child-Informed Schoolground Re-Design on Student Outcomes” 
PI: Janet Loebach (Human Ecology) 

“Safety at Work: Long-Term Trends and the Role of Institutions” 
PI: Elio Nimier-David (ILR School) 

“The Right to Disconnect” 
PI: Jason Sockin (ILR School) 

"Free-Riding and Firms’ Innovation in Low-Income Countries: Evidence from Burundi” 
PI: Luisa Cefalà (SC Johnson College) 

“Financial Infidelity Across Cultures” 
PI: Emily Garbinsky (SC Johnson College) 

“Fresh Produce Prescription Programs: Impacts on Diet Quality, Health Outcomes, and Cost-Effectiveness" 
PI: Miguel I. Gomez (SC Johnson College) 

“Framing Effect on Text Comprehension and Decision-Making" 
PI: Stijn van Osselaer (SC Johnson College) 

“Using Public Safety to Solve Social Problems: Local Politics, Devolution, and the Case of Homelessness” 
PI: Charley Willison (Veterinary College) 

Upcoming opportunities 

In Spring 2026, Cornell PI-eligible faculty will be invited to apply for the next round of CCSS funding, including the Seed Grants, Grant Preparation Funds, and Accelerated Research Grants. Additionally, CCSS accepts proposals on a rolling basis for the Hire a Grant Writer and the Roper-CCSS Data Conversion Grant programs. 

As part of its commitment to open science, CCSS requires all funded projects to make data and replication materials publicly available. The CCSS Data Discovery and Replication team assists grantees in preparing, archiving, and sharing their materials for use by the wider research community. 

Learn more about funding opportunities at socialsciences.cornell.edu/funding-and-programs/funding-opportunities. 

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