ALCF Issues AI for Science Program Call for Proposals, Feb. 27 Deadline

Jan. 20, 2026 — The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) invites proposals for a new collaboration and development program, called APEX, designed to fast-track novel applications of AI in science.

This program seeks proposals that apply AI methods in new, creative, or unconventional ways within their domain, such as introducing new AI methods or bringing established AI techniques into new scientific domains.

Duration: The projects are two years with one year renewal review.

Important Dates:

• February 27, 2026: Proposal Deadline
• March 27, 2026: Award Notifications
• May 1, 2026: Program Start Date
• April 28-30: In-Person Hackathon at Argonne National Laboratory

For more information, visit the APEX webpage. For questions, contact apex@alcf.anl.gov.

Successful projects will be supported through a combination of leadership-scale computing allocations and dedicated ALCF expertise, including staff collaborators and an ALCF-funded postdoctoral researcher. Proposals should demonstrate a clear need for leadership-scale computing resources and may engage the full spectrum of ALCF capabilities, including large-scale training, inference, simulation, and data analytics. The ALCF is especially interested in projects that combine these resources in complex, workflow-driven approaches to advance scientific discovery.

Both new and existing HPC users are welcome to apply. New users with questions can contact: apex@alcf.anl.gov.

This program is intended for projects pursuing large-scale scientific applications of AI and learning technologies that seek close collaboration with ALCF experts. The goal is to advance project maturity and readiness for follow-on INCITE or ALCC proposals.

Selected awardees will form a collaborative team with:

• access to ALCF’s advanced computational resources, including novel AI accelerators
• an ALCF staff member to facilitate collaboration
• an ALCF-funded postdoctoral researcher, hired by and working within the ALCF, who will be integrated into the project team to facilitate and contribute significantly to the AI-driven goals

Any restrictions on access to project codes or data should be clearly communicated in the proposal.