ACED: Accelerating Computing-Enabled Scientific Discovery (ACED)

The ACED program seeks to harness computing to accelerate scientific discovery, while driving new computing advancements. The intent is to catalyze advancements on both sides of a virtuous cycle that: (a) benefit scientific disciplines through computational technologies and (b) foster novel computing technologies that will enable advances beyond the specific use cases or domains originally targeted. The program seeks continuous collaborations between at least two groups of researchers. One group is expected to consist of researchers in computing, which, for the purposes of this solicitation are those disciplines that are supported by the Core Programs of National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate. The other group of researchers are expected to represent another scientific or engineering discipline, which, for the purposes of this solicitation, are defined as those supported within existing programs of the following NSF directorates: Biological Sciences, Engineering, or Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

The ACED program solicits proposals in two tracks: 

Track I: Emerging Ideas Proposals: This track is intended to support speculative multidisciplinary projects that explore bold new research directions. The goal of these projects should be to obtain preliminary results, refine the overall research plan based on these results, and garner insights into whether these advances generalize beyond the targeted use case or domain. Projects are limited to $500,000 in total budget, with durations of up to 18-24 months. Proposals accepted in 2024 Deadline Date.

Track II: Discovery Proposals: The objective of this track is to support transformative interdisciplinary research that will significantly advance both computing and the scientific discipline(s) to be studied. Proposals should clearly identify the scientific problem(s) to be addressed; the specific computing techniques to be developed; and be supported by preliminary collaborations and/or results that demonstrate the potential of the proposed ideas. Projects are limited to $750,000 per year for a duration of up to 4 years for a total budget of up to $3,000,000.  Proposals accepted in 2025-2026 Deadline Dates.