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Moonshot Seed Grant Program

Submit your proposal for one of four grants

The CALS Research and Innovation Office (RIO) and the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) are pleased to jointly announce the 3rd Annual CALS Moonshot Seed Grant Program. New proposals with bold and impactful ideas are now being accepted. Recipients of the first two seed grant cycles are advancing the frontiers of science, technology and community wellbeing, and this year’s applicants are invited to submit proposals that leverage innovative theories and cutting-edge technologies to tackle critical challenges and create transformative impacts in three strategic areas: 

  1. AI in Agriculture, Food Security, Sustainability, Health, and Life Sciences
  2. Food is Medicine
  3. Regenerative Agriculture and science

These areas will advance the CALS moonshot mission and Roadmap to 2050, the college’s strategic plan. Seed funds are intended to strengthen and propel college research impacts by positioning researchers to compete for external grants and to accelerate the application and commercialization of foundational discoveries in Moonshot areas. Seed grant applications that leverage cross-disciplinary collaborations and interdisciplinary partnerships are particularly solicited for this funding cycle.  Past successful proposals have demonstrated the ability to adopt, develop, and integrate emerging concepts, tools, and approaches to create new knowledge, translate key technologies and management practices into new products and startup companies, and promote community wellbeing. We encourage submissions of new proposals with these potentials and a focus on one of the three strategic topical areas described above. 

Timeline

  • RFP Release Date: October 15, 2025
  • Proposal Submission Deadline: November 10, 2025
  • Funding Notification Date: December 5, 2025
  • Funding Start and End Dates: December 15, 2025-December 1, 2026. 

Proposal Application Categories

Four types of seed grants will be awarded (estimate is 2-5 new awards in each area):

  1. Proposal Development award: up to $25,000-$50,000 each
  2. Patent and (or) Technology Development award: up to $15,000 each
  3. Product and (or) Company Development award: up to $25,000 each
  4. Community Impacts award: up to $10,000 - $20,000 each

Proposal development awards

Proposal Development Awards support two objectives:

  1. enabling investigators to generate critical preliminary data for new, renewal, and competitive resubmission proposals to major federal and non-federal sponsors; and
  2. helping CALS-led teams of investigators develop large-scale, interdisciplinary grant applications. 

Awardees are required to submit a major external grant proposal within one year.

Patent and (or) technology development awards

Patent and technology development awards support inventors and innovators in generating necessary data to file a patent application and(or) conduct essential testing of a prototype technology (e.g., seeds, software, procedures, etc.). These tests aim to attract potential licenses for the intended technology. Applicants for this grant must already have a developed prototype and/or have submitted an invention disclosure to the Cornell Center for Technology Licensing (CTL), which will assess the innovation's patentability. Successful applicants are expected to file a patent application and a technology transfer agreement (license) within one year.

Product and (or) company development awards

Product and (or) company development awards support the creation of startup companies by CALS faculty and(or) new product development by these companies. Applicants must have recently established a startup company or will establish one within one year to commercialize Cornell-patented technology.

Community impact awards

Community impact awards support the development and application of new technologies in strategic areas outlined above, but with a clear, measurable focus on empowering local communities. The proposed tools should aim to build bridges with local communities to effectively address pressing economic, ecological, health, and other social challenges. Proposals should include an evaluation plan to demonstrate success in achieving these goals. Results of this award should then be used to apply for external grants that center community engagement, participatory learning, outreach, or broader impacts within the research program.

Application instructions

Each application package should include the following items:

  • Cover Page: (1 page) Proposal title; PI and co-PI name, position, and contact information. List the strategic area that your work addresses (if more than one area is relevant, list them in order of relevance) and indicate the type of award you are applying for from the list of four above.
  • Project Description (2 pages): Include project background and rationale, specific aims, experimental design or work plan, research or technical approaches, and expected outcomes and their relevance to the target seed grant mission. Please elaborate the key components or results that you intend to obtain from the proposed project to achieve your goal (e.g., submitting a large grant, acquiring a patent, licensing a technology or creating a company). Explain how AI will be integrated into the proposed project and how interdisciplinary collaborations will enhance project outcomes (maximum 2 pages).
  • Signed Budget and Justification (1 page): This document must be signed by a Department Chair or Unit Director. Please list major project milestones, timeline for each of the milestones and corresponding budget items (categories such as personnel, supplies, per diem, etc.). Briefly justify the budget. Note, PI salary is generally not allowed, but budgets can be used for other project personnel and trainees.  A modified IDC rate up to 10% may apply; please discuss your budget questions with the appropriate contacts below.
  • Current Biosketch of PI and co-PI (NIH, NSF, or USDA format, 1-3 pages per person, highlighting relevant expertise and experience).
  • Please assemble all pages and submit your application as a PDF via this link.
  • Late submissions may not be considered.

*Note: Projects selected to be funded jointly by Cornell AES and RIO will need to prepare and submit a Hatch project initiation form, which must be approved by USDA NIFA to access funding. 

Formatting Requirements 

Font size, 11 or greater, Arial or Times New Roman, single-spaced, and no less than 0.5 margins, all sides.

More Information

Eligibility of applicants

All CALSfaculty members (including tenure-track and *senior research, teaching and extension associates) are eligible to apply as the lead PI of a proposal. Each applicant may serve as PI on only one application and co-PI on another application (a maximum of two proposals per applicant). In addition, co-PIs may include faculty outside of CALS, but the funding must run through CALS faculty accounts.

Proposals that involve collaboration from multiple disciplines or fields are especially encouraged.

Budget & project requirements

Award funds should be used for the proposed research and innovation activities, and the use is flexible at the PI’s discretion. Some restrictions apply, namely the funds cannot be used for PI salary including faculty summer salary, or major equipment over $5,000, or lab renovations. 

Evaluation criteria

  • Developments of new theory, technology, and applications in the target areas.
  • Scientific merit, feasibility and clarity of project goals and approaches.
  • Probability to secure large external grant support.
  • Potential to develop a patent, technology transfer, product, or startup company.
  • Potential to positively impact stakeholders in New York State (for projects to be jointly funded by Cornell AES and RIO).

*Note that for Federal Capacity Funds, PI eligibility is limited to tenured/tenure track faculty, and RTE faculty who are Senior Research Associates, Senior Extension Associates, or Senior Lecturers. Proposers that are awarded with AES funds must meet these eligibility requirements. Proposers awarded AES funds may be able to budget a portion on PI salary costs, but this should be discussed with the AES budget manager.

Contact Information

For inquiries or further information, please contact CALS Research and Innovation Office (Tiffany Fleming for proposal development and community impact; Marius Weigert for patent, technology, product or company development) via email at cals_rio [at] cornell.edu (cals_rio[at]cornell[dot]edu).