 Submit the form via link by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 4.

Questions may be directed to Jovana Savanovic, j.savanovic@cornell.edu.

Key Dates:

• Application Deadline: December 4
• CoPAIR Selection: December 5 — 11
• CoPAIR Announcement: December 14
• Training Sessions: Two days in December; Two days in January
• Kickoff Meeting with the CoPAIR Fellows: January 22
• CoPAIR Launch: January 25
• Spring AI Public Forum: TBD
• Pilot Conclusion: May 7

CoPAIRs can be self-formed groups of faculty, postdocs, research associates, and Ph.D. students. Each CoPAIR must include at least three faculty members to facilitate disciplinary community exchanges. Ph.D. students are encouraged to connect with peers who share similar research interests and discuss participation with their faculty advisor or research mentor. CoPAIRs will likely form around specific research fields, but members do not need to share a department, graduate field, or college.

While each CoPAIR will operate independently and autonomously in line with its own goals, all CoPAIRs will be expected to participate in periodic check-ins and program-wide activities. CoPAIRs will serve as both learning communities and innovation incubators, generating practical knowledge, shareable resources, documented examples, and use cases that can benefit the broader Cornell research community.

Each group will have 2—3 coordinators (CoPAIR Fellows), at least one of whom must be a faculty member. Fellows will be responsible for organizing and conducting their group’s regular activities and serve as the primary point of contact for their CoPAIR. They will also lead the initial orientation using the provided CoPAIR Starter Kit, coordinate meetings and milestones, foster collaborative learning and knowledge sharing, and support the development of shared resources and artifacts relevant to the CoPAIR's goals.

All Fellows are encouraged to attend the CoPAIR Fellows Working Group meetings, held every 2—3 weeks, and attendance by at least one Fellow from each CoPAIR is required. These meetings are used to share each CoPAIR’s progress, needs, and lessons learned with the broader CoPAIR community.

CoPAIRs will have access to the AI tools, technical resources, and training opportunities needed to pursue their proposed activities, including:

• Premium AI tool access for CoPAIR Fellows: These premium licenses provide increased token budgets that may be used to support both CoPAIR activities and other research projects. One will receive a Claude Max license, one will receive a ChatGPT Pro license, and if a CoPAIR includes a third Fellow, that Fellow will also receive a premium license of their choice.
• Community-building support: CoPAIRs that commit to in-person meetings may request up to $2,000 per CoPAIR in support for group meals and community-building activities. This funding is intended to encourage in-person engagement and strengthen collaborative relationships within the CoPAIR.
• Training sessions in practical AI tool usage: Two sessions in December, followed by two more starting the second week of January. These sessions are open to everyone in the Cornell community, and CoPAIR Fellows and members are strongly encouraged to attend.
• Technical consultation: Each CoPAIR is eligible for a one-time consultation with the Cornell AI Innovation Lab to discuss technical resources, infrastructure needs, and AI-enabled research workflows.
• Computing consultation: Each CoPAIR is eligible for a one-time consultation with the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing (CAC) to discuss computing requirements, available infrastructure, and research computing resources.
• Additional AI learning resources and training will be available to all CoPAIR members.

CoPAIRs that demonstrate interest and need may also receive credits for Google Gemini AI tools (e.g., Deep Research, Antigravity).

The CoPAIR pilot will run for 14 weeks during the spring 2027 semester, from January 25 through May 7, excluding spring break (March 25—April 2). Throughout this period, all members of each CoPAIR are expected to meet regularly to engage in their proposed activities and knowledge exchange.

CoPAIR deliverables consist of midpoint and final reports, along with surveys completed by all CoPAIR members. Midpoint reports are due after the first seven weeks of the pilot (around March 15). In addition to reporting progress, these reports are an opportunity to revise or expand CoPAIR goals and activities for the second half of the pilot program. Parts of these reports may be shared publicly, including reflections on experiences and lessons learned in response to the following questions:

• Where does the CoPAIR see the biggest opportunities for AI in its discipline?
• Where does the CoPAIR see the biggest challenges for AI in its discipline?
• Where has AI proved helpful within the CoPAIR?
• Where has AI not proved helpful within the CoPAIR?

At the conclusion of the pilot, reach CoPAIR must complete the final program report and survey of all members. The internal portion of the report will cover activities, resource use, collected use cases, new methods and AI skills, and other outcomes. This information will be used to assess the effectiveness of the pilot and inform future program development. Similar to the midpoint report, it will include public reflection questions on lessons learned and experiences relevant to each CoPAIR’s disciplinary practices and norms.

CoPAIRs are also expected to share their findings, lessons learned, and outputs at the AI Public Forum, an open event held in the spring semester (date TBD), to facilitate cross-disciplinary dialogue and engagement with the broader Cornell research community.

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• Alignment with the CoPAIR Program goals.
• Identified research challenges and potential impact on research practices.
• Feasibility of the proposed activities.
• Potential benefit to the broader Cornell research community.

The final selection of Research Pod CoPAIRs will also consider balance across disciplines.

Submit the form via link(external site)↗︎ by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 4.