The CITRIS Seed Funding Program issues competitive awards that advance information technology research for societal benefit and catalyze proof-of-concept results that can lead to transformative solutions for industry and the public sector.
Interdisciplinary proposals are invited from principal investigators at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Davis Health, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz. Awardees embody the university’s public mission and innovative spirit of California. This program has accelerated more than 260 applied research projects led by over 410 UC innovators to date. Funded projects offer a glimpse at new frontiers of technology and have attracted more than $60 million in follow-on support from federal, state, corporate and private sources.
Projects are invited in these critical research areas:
- Aerospace and aviation
- Artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics
- Digital health
- Sustainability and climate resilience
Overview
To encourage cross-campus, interdisciplinary approaches to societal challenges, eligible teams will include two or more principal investigators (PIs) from the different UC campuses named above. Proposals that engage multiple academic disciplines are encouraged. For example, a computer scientist and economist might collaborate on novel data applications, each leveraging the strengths of their home campus.
Successful proposals will emphasize:
- Information technology applications in the interest of society
- Early-stage, proof-of-concept work with potential for impact at scale
- Future extramural funding opportunities to further develop the proposed work
Solutions that address diversity, equity, workforce development, cybersecurity and/or policy questions are welcome.
Each selected team receives $40,000–$60,000 to pursue their research during the 12-month performance period. Awardees receive CITRIS Investigator status and can benefit from connections with the institute’s broader network and resources. At the conclusion of the award period, a brief outcome report is required to highlight the project successes and share next steps for the work.
Background
The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) create information technology solutions for society’s most pressing challenges. Established in 2001 by Governor Gray Davis, CITRIS leverages the interdisciplinary research capabilities of multiple UC campuses to advance the University of California’s mission. CITRIS was created to catalyze significant research and to strengthen bridges between world-class academic researchers, industry partners and public institutions that are charting the future and reshaping entire industries together.
To date, the CITRIS Seed Funding Program has supported more than 260 research projects led by over 410 UC innovators. Selected through a competitive RFP process, CITRIS Seed Awards support the scientific groundwork, data collection and prototyping necessary to pursue larger research or commercialization awards that address major unsolved challenges using information technology and computation. Funded projects offer a glimpse at new frontiers of technology and have attracted more than $60 million in follow-on support from federal, state, corporate and private sources.
Areas of Interest
Through engagement with our academic, industry and government collaborators, CITRIS has identified the following critical challenges. We seek innovative proposals that bring the university’s expertise and ingenuity to bear on these complex issues facing California and the world at large.
Below are the designated areas of interest for 2025:
| Primary Category | Areas of Interest |
|---|---|
| 1. Aerospace and Aviation | See full Aerospace and Aviation description ⬇️ |
| 2. Sustainability and Climate Resilience | See full Sustainability and Climate Resilience description ⬇️ |
| 3. Digital Health | See full Digital Health description ⬇️ |
| 4. Artificial Intelligence, Autonomy and Robotics | See full Artificial Intelligence, Autonomy and Robotics description ⬇️ |
Full Technical Descriptions
Challenge 1: Aerospace and Aviation
Aviation is on the cusp of transformative change. Low-carbon commercial transportation, urban air mobility, and next-generation logistics each have the potential to shape our lives and environment profoundly. In parallel, advances in remote sensing and earth observation can unlock new understanding of the multidimensional indicators and drivers of global shifts or disruptions. Exciting advances in aviation research sit at the intersection of these trends, including the development of leading-edge technologies, applications and policies related to the future of flight. Interdisciplinary work is needed to advance primary discoveries in propulsion, batteries and materials — along with novel applications for imaging, sensing, mapping, automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Proposals are invited that address novel challenges and opportunities in:
- Sustainable systems: electrification and other decarbonization solutions; sustainable propulsion; cost-effective vehicle solutions; energy sources and storage; next-gen airports; infrastructure, sustainability and logistics for emerging aerial vehicle technologies
- Uncrewed flight: route planning, safety systems, communication and control algorithms for real-time decentralized decision-making and coordination in uncertain and dynamic environments
- Sensing technologies: new sensing technologies suitable for integration in existing platforms, with applications related to wildfire and emergency management, agriculture, biodiversity conservation, air and water quality, and infrastructure
- Health care delivery: drones for medical supply and vaccine delivery, mapping infectious disease landscapes, conducting search and rescue missions, supporting vulnerable populations including older adults, and ensuring health care services reach underserved communities
Challenge 2: Sustainability and Climate Resilience
As climate disruption accelerates, the effects on society’s fundamental infrastructure become more visible through increased wildfires, heat events, power outages, flooding, drought, hurricanes and other hazards. In California alone, severe drought conditions pose a growing threat to food and energy production, while floods and wildfires endanger people and communities. Information technology is a key layer of the “solution stack” to limit future harms from climate change, increase systemic resilience, conserve biodiversity, and enable a more sustainable, equitable and carbon-neutral future. New research into society’s interconnected and increasingly digitized life support systems is urgently needed — primarily in the areas of energy, water, food, transportation and the built environment. Special attention is called to issues of climate justice and equity when considering long-range infrastructure investments and improvements.
Proposals are invited that address novel challenges and opportunities in:
- Energy infrastructure: decarbonization, emissions reduction, grid connectivity, microgrids, storage, optimized controls, powering rural communities
- Food-energy-water: resilient food systems, localized or low-energy food production, agricultural emissions reduction, water monitoring and management
- Sustainable built environment: smart cities, electrification, digital transformation and performance of buildings, transportation infrastructure, decarbonized mobility
- Community-scale hazards: tech-enabled mitigation of wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, drought, extreme heat, air pollution, biodiversity loss, coastal degradation and other climate-driven hazards
Challenge 3: Digital Health
Spurred by recent advances in technologies and data analytics, the digital health revolution is ushering in a new era of transformative, scalable and sustainable solutions to improve health and wellness. These technology-enabled strategies aim to improve access to care, improve quality of care and address health disparities while reducing health care costs. Current research priorities focus on novel models of care that impact public health, including chronic disease, aging and health behavior. Interdisciplinary proposals should build upon the principal technology solutions of telehealth, sensors, wearables, cloud computing, informatics, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, and data analytics (AI and machine learning), with an emphasis on solutions that integrate hardware and software.
Proposals are invited that address novel challenges and opportunities in:
- Technical and data solutions: devices and health informatics for health improvement through predictive analytics, diagnostics and care delivery
- Healthy aging in a digital world: technologies to increase well-being and resilience of older adults, family caregivers and the health care workforce with applications related to mobility, behavioral health, care decision support and safe environments
- Equitable access and remote patient monitoring: digital health innovations with applications related to telehealth, sensors, inclusive interfaces, wearables, cloud computing, informatics, virtual and augmented reality, and robotics and data analytics
- Population health and public health: technology-enabled solutions that support public health and underresourced populations with adaptations for adverse environmental, economic and geopolitical conditions including climate disruption, pollution, pandemics and conflict
Challenge 4: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomy and Robotics
Robotics, automation and AI are advancing rapidly due to innovations in machine learning algorithms, sensors, motors, computation and networks — all accelerated by government, corporate and private investment. These systems have enormous potential to reduce drudgery and improve the human experience in health care, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and a broad range of other applications in the interests of society. Achieving this requires sensitivity to human factors, policies for emerging technologies, rigorous theory evaluated on standardized benchmarks and modular systems built upon shared software toolkits. Multidisciplinary research is needed in key areas of deep learning, cloud robotics, generative AI, human-centric automation, precision agriculture and bioinspired robotics.
Proposals are invited that address novel challenges and opportunities in:
- Emerging applications: new uses for robots for mixed-autonomy settings; automation in health, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, aviation, transportation, smart cities, energy, education and other industries
- Responsible and ethical AI: improving sustainability and energy efficiency; increasing explainability, adding performance guarantees and reducing bias in training data; data security and responsible data governance for sensitive data
- Design for inclusive, accessible and/or assistive systems: intuitive and reliable human-robot interfaces; human-robot teaming; social robotics; using robots to augment human capabilities; human-centric automation; enhanced support for vulnerable populations, including older adults
- Safety and wellness: shifting dangerous, repetitive or precise work to machines to better protect humans, leverage human skills and creativity, and improve human-machine interaction
Timeline
- Nov. 11, 2024: Themes announced in CITRIS newsletter; team formation begins.
- Feb. 13, 2025: Full RFP published on CITRIS website; online application portal opens for submissions.
- March 12, 2025: Online info session at 1 p.m. (Captioned video available below.)
- April 22, 2025: Applications are due online at 5 p.m. PDT.
- By June 16, 2025: Awardees are notified.
- July–August, 2025: Awardee funds are transferred per intercampus timelines.
- July 1, 2025, or Jan. 1, 2026: Formal performance period begins. Awardees will be asked to select either a July 1 or Jan. 1 project start date to accommodate necessary hiring, IRB approval and/or procurement timelines.
- June 30 or Dec. 31, 2026: Formal conclusion of 12-month performance period and spend down of funds, with respect to July 2025 or January 2026 start dates.
- Sept. 1, 2026, or March 1, 2027: Outcome report is due online 60 days after conclusion of the CITRIS Seed Award performance period.
Information session:
An online info session was offered March 12. A captioned video of that presentation is now available:
Apply
Applications are managed through a secure online portal.
For account management purposes, we recommend that the lead PI initiates the online application for each proposal team. Please use the UC campus email address for all participating PIs. Email seedteam@citris-uc.org directly for help with any access issues.
You are encouraged to double-check the eligibility requirements below before beginning your application. Please reach out via email if our frequently asked questions (FAQs) do not address your queries.