The Brown Division of Research has announced the recipients of this year’s internal funding opportunities, which include the awardees for the 2026 Division of Research Seed Program and the Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Awards.

The 2026 Division of Research Seed Program, our flagship support for transformative ideas, was quadrupled this year thanks to generous gifts from donors. This enabled funding in three distinct tracks supporting research resiliency, the development of bold ideas for the future, and our traditional seed funding opportunity. The generous donations not only increase funds for seed ideas but also expand efforts to sustain an innovative and resilient research environment at Brown. 

In 2026, 53 Seed Awards were presented across a range of disciplines including biological and life sciences, humanities and social sciences, physical sciences, and public health. For comparison, the 2025 Seed awards included 15 awardees, which included a gift to support AI research.

Learn more about the 2026 Seed Awardees.

These expanded seed awards demonstrate Brown’s continuing support for ambitious ideas and programs. They provide critical early support for testing ideas, gathering pilot data, team building, and preparing successful external proposals. 

The Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Awards fund research projects with exceptional merit up to $15,000 for one year (or $30,000 for arts, humanities, and humanistic social sciences).

In 2026, 17 Salomon Awards were presented across disciplines including arts and humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, public health, and biological and life sciences.

Learn more about the 2026 Salomon Awardees.

Both the Seed and Salomon awardees will be honored at the Celebration of Research this fall.

Finally, the Division of Research will be hosting two more sessions in the AI + X networking series this fall; registration will open soon for AI + Humanities, AI+ Omics. Participants of all networking events will have the opportunity to apply to the 2027 Seed Program, AI Track this Fall. Expect the competition announcement for this and our full 2027 Seed Program competition in September.