Call for proposals: CITRIS Seed Funding offers PIs up to $60K for multicampus research

Collage of four photos: drone hovering near highway; woman with protective eye covering watching robotic arm; aerial view of coastline; older man using blood pressure monitor.

Researchers from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Davis Health, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz are invited to submit proposals for 2025 CITRIS Seed Awards, worth $40,000–$60,000 per project. Projects should address at least one of the following areas of interest, with an emphasis on transformative solutions for the public good:

  • Aerospace and aviation
  • Artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics
  • Digital health
  • Sustainability and climate resilience

To encourage UC-wide collaboration, each proposal must include at least two principal investigators, each from a different campus affiliated with CITRIS and the Banatao Institute.

The CITRIS Seed Funding Program is designed to support innovative, early-stage work that can attract larger-scale funding from diverse sources. Proposals are evaluated based on feasibility, potential for societal impact, potential for follow-on funding, alignment with the mission of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, and inclusion of pretenured faculty.

The application portal opens at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13. A virtual info session will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12. 

Proposals are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22,  and awards will be announced in June.

Read the full RFP and apply.