The California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA (CNSI) has recently received a philanthropic commitment of $10 million over three years to establish the Noble Family Innovation Fund. The Noble Fund focuses on identifying, supporting and accelerating high-risk, high‐reward research, from basic to translational, with promise for commercialization and societal impact. Their goal is to create a model for academic research and entrepreneurship that enables strategic investment to seed discoveries that have the potential to be translated for the public good.
The objectives of the Noble Family Innovation Fund at CNSI are to:
- Drive leading‐edge research in materials, energy, information technologies, environmental sustainability, life and biomedical sciences and related areas for the benefit of society
- Accelerate high‐risk/high‐reward interdisciplinary research, from basic to translational, and the development of new tools and technologies with exceptional promise
- Provide investigators with resources to jump‐start new research efforts and directions by providing seed‐funding to generate results that will lead to follow‐on funding (i.e., federal, foundation, private, and/or other University fund sources such as the TDG‐sponsored UCLA Innovation Fund)
- Support discovery, innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship at UCLA
Award Amount and Details
Proposals may request up to $250,000 (total direct costs) for up to 2‐years of funding.
- Awarded amounts will depend on the scope of work proposed and the availability of funds.
- Projects with shorter timelines are also encouraged, and budget requests should be based on realistic expected expenses.
- They expect to fund approximately 10 new projects per year for each of the next three years.
The following budget items will not be supported:
- Faculty salaries
- Equipment acquisition over $25,000, with the exception of equipment to be housed in a CNSI Technology Center
- Travel
- Subcontracting outside of UCLA (unless prior approval is obtained)
Deadlines and Date Information
The Noble Family Innovation Fund application process involves two steps:
- First step: Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) due March 1, 2022 by email to grants@cnsi.ucla.edu with the header “Noble Family Innovation Fund LOI”
- Second step: Letters of intent received on or before March 1, 2022 will be reviewed by the steering committee and, if selected, PIs will be invited to submit a full proposal (guidelines provided upon invitation).
- Invitations for full proposals will be extended within 30 days of the LOI submission deadline and will be due on May 2, 2022
Eligibility Information
- The Principal Investigator must be a current or new CNSI member with campus eligibility to serve as a PI
- CNSI membership information and application materials available at: https://cnsi.ucla.edu/members
- Priority will be given to team science projects that propose to advance bold research concepts for maximized societal impact
- Proposed projects should exhibit the potential to secure external funding (i.e., federal research support, foundation support, capital investment, etc.) at the end of the funding period
- Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with and/or utilize CNSI Technology Centers to advance their research mission
