The 2026 IRC Faculty Research Fellowship (IRC-FRF)
The Imaging Research Center (IRC), the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT), and the Vice President for Research are pleased to announce a funding opportunities for two tenured or tenure-track faculty members, one in CAHSS and one in COEIT, to collaborate with each other, and the IRC, on research/creative research. The IRC brings expertise in prototyping original solutions in unique forms that are provocative, creative, and aspire to serve the public good. Our methods often include media research, concept development, design, engineering, modeling and animation, interactivity, filmmaking, augmented and virtual reality. Researchers are offered an office in the IRC. The Fellowship can be used to advance an existing project or initiate a new one. The IRC Faculty Research Fellowship (IRC-FRF) is intended as seed funding for media and visualization research that advances communication, expression, and/or visual analysis. (Deadline: March 2, 2026)
What We Fund
The 2026 IRC-FRF will fund up to two interdisciplinary research projects that require collaboration between two faculty members, one from CAHSS and one from COEIT. We encourage prospective applicants to reach out to Anita Komlodi, Associate Director of the IRC, or Lisa Moren, Director of the IRC, to discuss their proposal in advance.
Successful applications will describe projects that are likely to generate opportunities for external funding and future collaborative partnerships. Proposals should also describe plans for public display, publishing, or opportunities to bring visibility to the research and/or creative research.
The Award
In FY2026 the IRC will award up to two collaborative projects.
- Open Call
- The AI State
Award Amounts
Each award will be $22,000. $6,000 per faculty member (2 x $6,000) as a stipend and/or other research-related expenses, and $10,000 to directly support the research project in the IRC. This may include staff support, undergraduate or graduate student support, additional equipment or supplies, travel, and other appropriate expenses. Awardees may choose to use their $6000 as a summer stipend and/or to cover project expenses.
[1] Open Call criteria: Two tenured or tenure-track faculty members, one from CAHSS and one from COEIT, will collaborate with each other and the IRC on research/creative research. Preference will be given to projects that align with the IRC’s mission. The IRC brings expertise in prototyping original solutions in unique forms that are provocative, creative, and aspire to serve the public good. Outcomes may include media research, concept development, design, engineering, modeling and animation, interactivity, poems, research data and analysis or scholarly research in media forms such as an app; a system with user interactions, studies of technology, theater scripts and/or productions, art installations, musical performances; AR/VR/XR experiences, video walls or immersive environments.
[2] The AI State criteria: Two tenured or tenure-track faculty members, one in CAHSS and one in COEIT, will collaborate with each other and the IRC on a research/creative research project. Preference will be given to projects that address AI in content or form.
Many of the things we interact with every day are powered by AI, but we often have little understanding of it. Provocative proposals may ask questions about human will vs. machine will, or how can we see things that are not meant for us to see? Does AI generate a collaborative consciousness? Are we becoming a post-humanist society? Other topics may include the societal impact of AI, embodied AI, disinformation, language acquisition, computer vision, and so on.
Outcomes may include media research, concept development, design, engineering, modeling and animation, interactivity, poems, research data and analysis or scholarly research in media forms such as an app; a system with user interactions, studies of technology and AI, theater scripts and/or productions, art installations, musical performances; AR/VR/XR experiences, video walls or immersive environments.
Budget
The IRC-FRF awards include $10,000 that will go to the IRC staff, students and/or equipment and services. Equipment purchased from IRC’s budget will stay with the IRC at the end of the project. $6,000 will go to each researcher, which may be spent as the researcher’s stipend, or for additional staff, students, or equipment that belongs to the researcher at the end of the project. It is recommended to work with the IRC on preparing this budget.
Award Timeline
The IRC-FRF awards are to fund research for a total of two years.
November 3: 12-1:30 PM: CARAT Event, Performing Arts & Humanities Building : 216, Announce IRC-FRF.
December 16: 12-1 PM: IRC Event, ITE 101 (First Floor), information session and research cross-college conversation.
January 15: Letter of Interest (LOI) due for The AI State call; a one-page statement is required No budget or Dept. Chair’s letter is needed. Collaborative or individual research letters are acceptable.
February: Successful LOI’s will be invited to the IRC to discuss collaborations and feedback on preparing a final proposal.
March 2:. All final IRC-FRF proposals are due. The full proposal, submitted by collaborative researchers, will include a statement, budget, budget justification and timeline.
March 6: Letters of support from Department Chairs are due.
May: Award announcements will be made.
The awards will start on August 3, 2026, and end on July 31, 2028
Deadline
March 2, 2026, 5pm
Review Criteria
- Quality of the proposed project and significance in the respective fields.
- Feasibility and clear match of the proposed research to the IRC’s mission, expertise, and infrastructure.
- Qualifications of the faculty members for the proposed research.
- Appropriateness of the budget.
Preparation and Review
The proposal review committee will be composed of the IRC Advisory Board, previous IRC-FRF recipients, and UMBC faculty members as needed. Award announcements will be made in May of 2026.
Contact
Lisa Moren: lmoren@umbc.edu
Anita Komlodi: komlodi@umbc.edu
Directions for Submitting The AI State Letter of Interest (LOI)
The AI State IRC-FRF call requests a one-page letter of interest by January 15, 2026. The letter should express the researcher’s or creative researcher’s interest in AI, mention whether they have a collaborator or require one, and specify the type of collaborator they are open to working with. The letters will be reviewed by the IRC team and the IRC Advisory Board. Successful LOI’s will be invited to the IRC to discuss collaborations and feedback on preparing a final proposal. Technical expertise in AI is not required.
Directions For Submitting a Full Proposal
The proposal must be submitted as a PDF no later than 5pm, March 2, 2026. It should be single-spaced, with one-inch margins, using a 12-point font. The proposal must include:
TITLE PAGE: See attached.
LETTERS OF SUPPORT: The applicants’ Department Chairs should write a brief letter of support. This will be emailed separately to Anita Komlodi at komlodi@umbc.edu by March 6, 2026.
PREPARE ONE FILE WITH THE FOLLOWING
SUMMARY (half page): This should be written in non-technical language. Please keep in mind that not all reviewers will be experts in your field.
NARRATIVE TEXT (3 pages – under 1500 words): Include a clear and concise statement of: the specific aims and significance of the proposed research; a description of the research methods and what is critical to the research that requires collaboration with IRC facilities and expertise. It should also include a statement outlining the expected outcomes of the research, which may include any or all of the following:
- The potential for attracting external funding, including potential funding source(s);
- Venues for dissemination of research;
- The significance of the project for the applicants’ research/creative research career.
BUDGET, JUSTIFICATION AND TIMELINE (1 page): Include estimated IRC Resources, equipment, stipends and budget justification. It is recommended that you work with the IRC to prepare this budget. Include a timeline with dates for anticipated accomplishments.
BIBLIOGRAPHY (1 page): If appropriate
CURRENT CV(S): CV for the two applicants in the UMBC format.
LINKS TO MEDIA AND ADDITIONAL MATERIALS (1 page): If appropriate.
IRC-FRF Full Application Form
Title and Investigators
TITLE OF PROPOSAL:
CAHSS Investigator’s Name:
Highest Degree:
Year Awarded:
Academic Title:
Department:
Campus address, phone, and email:
COEIT Investigator’s Name:
Highest Degree:
Year Awarded:
Academic Title:
Department:
Campus address, phone, and email:
Name/s of other UMBC Faculty Collaborators:
Conditions of an Award
The applicant/s affirm that if they are awarded an IRC Faculty Research Fellowship, they will:
- Prepare a statement and photograph by April 1, 2027 describing the progress on the award, and a final report, with visual documentation, by July 31, 2028. Both reports go to the Director of the IRC, noting efforts toward publication, exhibition, dissemination, and application(s) for, or awards of, external funding (which aids in the IRC’s own reporting responsibilities).
- Assist the IRC, as needed, with publicity materials about the project.
- Use the IRC logo and give the IRC credit in publications, presentations, and exhibitions, where the IRC funding, researchers, technical staff, and student research assistants are involved.
The applicant/s will request that their Department Chair submit a letter of support. This should be a paragraph-long email sent to the IRC Associate Director, Anita Komlodi (komlodi@umbc.edu) on behalf of the applicant and their proposal by March 6, 2026.