Propose an Accelerator Project
Ready to accelerate your research? Tell us about it!
The goal of the eScience Data Science and AI Accelerator is to enable rapid advancement of data-intensive projects by bringing together data scientists and domain researchers to work on focused, collaborative projects. The Accelerator program is open to faculty, postdocs, staff, and graduate students from any of the three UW campuses. The Data Science and AI Accelerator will run year-round and accept proposals for projects of various durations (from 1 week to 6 months) and various intensities (from sprints to slow burns).
We are looking for projects from any discipline that would benefit from collaboration with our team of data scientists on data intensive and AI approaches, such as machine learning, scalable data management, statistical analysis, data visualization, and open-source software development, and cloud and scalable computing. We support projects that vary greatly in terms of their methods, scope, maturity, and area of application. In reviewing the proposals, we will be looking for projects with well-defined deliverables that clearly articulate the research impact and why the eScience Data Science & AI Accelerator is critical to advancing the project.
Call for Proposals
Applications consist of a short project proposal describing the research goals, the relevant datasets, and the expected technical challenges. We use the term “project lead” for the graduate student, postdoc, staff, or faculty who will be responsible for executing the project and who will be expected to spend the amount of time mutually agreed upon per week working with an eScience data scientist. The project lead will be responsible for successful project completion, with the eScience team providing guidance on data science methods, technologies, and best practices.
Data scientists often make substantial contributions to Accelerator projects. We expect that the work of data scientists and the role of the eScience Institute Accelerator program will be properly attributed in any related talks, publications, software releases, etc.
A key feature of the Accelerator program is that the project lead can indicate the preferred duration and intensity for the proposed project work. For selected projects, the project lead and the data scientist collaborator will iterate on and finalize these expectations. We recognize that proposers may find it challenging to estimate the work time needed, especially if they are pushing into a new technical space. We will use your estimates as a starting point to understand your availability for engagement and to begin developing a project plan.
We find that collaboration in shared virtual or physical spaces is important for deeper technical engagement and the ability to leverage the broader expertise of the eScience community. We anticipate that we will be able to support in-person, hybrid, and remote participation in the Accelerator program.
How to Get Started
We strongly recommend that anyone planning to submit a proposal for an Accelerator consult with one of our Data Scientists during their Office Hours for guidance and also check out the Accelerator FAQs.
Informational meetings will be held quarterly. New sessions will be added each quarter:
Register for an information session on Monday, October 28th at 11 a.m. via Zoom.
Register for an information session on Thursday, November 7th at 2 p.m. via Zoom.
Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed quarterly. The proposal submission deadline for projects starting in Winter 2025 is November 11th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
What Happens Next
Proposers will receive notification 3-4 weeks after the quarterly submission deadline (see “How to Get Started” above). We frequently reach out to short-listed projects with follow up questions to better understand project scoping. This does not ensure acceptance. Start dates for selected projects will be determined based on project lead and eScience data scientist availability.
The Data Science and AI Accelerator is a new program for the eScience Institute, the next iteration of the Incubator program which ran for 10 years from 2014-2024. In contrast to the Incubator program, the Data Science and AI Accelerator will run year-round and will involve projects of various durations and intensities. For reference, check out descriptions of previous Incubator projects.
For questions about the Data Science and AI Accelerator program please contact Bryna Hazelton at brynah@uw.edu.