Open call: Google.org – Impact Challenge: AI For Science

Mar 5, 2026 | Awards & Funding, Faculty

To: Science Faculty
From: Office of Foundation Relations
Subject: Funding Opportunity

The Office of Foundations Relations is pleased to share this open call for funding from Google.org.  

 

 

Overview

AI is a critical lever to unlock scientific breakthroughs and understand the fundamental mechanisms of human health and climate. Building on the success of the inaugural AI for Science fund, Google.org is launching an initiative at the intersection of artificial intelligence and scientific discovery. By empowering researchers with catalytic funding and technical expertise, Google.org aims to accelerate our understanding of key scientific questions—achieving Nobel-level breakthroughs and enabling science at digital speed.

 

AI for Health & Life Sciences: Improve our understanding of human life—from genomics to brain mapping—to ultimately improve human health and wellbeing.

AI for Climate Resilience & Environmental Science: Build a deeper understanding of our planet’s living systems—spanning biodiversity, agriculture, oceans, and more—to help build a more resilient and sustainable Earth and atmosphere.

Please consult the full guidelines and a list of FAQs to also see more details on scientific domains and sub-categories. 

 

Project Criteria:

  1. Scientific Ambition & Impact: Projects must pursue high-impact research in the following areas: AI for Health & Life Sciences, AI for Climate Resilience & Environmental Science. Proposals should be evidence-based and define clear, quantifiable success metrics.
  2. Innovative & Responsible Use of AI: AI should be a core component of the solution, developed in alignment with Google’s Responsible AI Principles and shared via open-source licensing to benefit the public, or the solution should specifically enable future AI use cases (e.g. a foundational open dataset).
  3. Feasibility: Applicants must provide a realistic execution plan, timeline, and budget. Teams must possess the necessary technical and domain expertise to successfully execute the proposed research.
  4. Scalability & Sustainability: Projects should demonstrate potential for scaled impact and/or relevance beyond their immediate scope. Applicants are encouraged to articulate how their outputs will be discovered, adopted, and maintained across scientific domains and geographies.

 

Award Terms & Amount 

  • $500K to $3M USD
  • Participate in a Google.org Accelerator

 

Timeline

  • April 17, 2026 at 11:59PM PT Proposal due

 

Special instructions

If you plan to apply, please contact Samantha Forde, Nathan Westrup and John Tannaci to discuss as soon as possible. Please submit a proposal intake form prior to UCSC’s internal Institutional Deadlines. For support developing your idea, please send a request to the Office of Research Development, resdev@ucsc.edu. 

 

Call sent: March 4, 2026

The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Advancement. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits. For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website: FR Calls for Funding.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact forde@ucsc.edu or nwestrup@ucsc.edu or jtannaci@ucsc.edu
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