Schmidt Sciences: VESRI Climate Change Research

Schmidt Sciences: VESRI Climate Modelling Challenge (Phase I)

Award: up to $2,000,000 over 24 months
Deadline: September 11, 2026
Interested? Notify [email protected]​​​​​​​ for more information. All LOI documents will be due to our office no later than September 4.

Link to Full Request for Proposal

Overview

Working with Schmidt Science, the Virtual Earth Systems Research Institute (VESRI), seeks to support research teams that can make climate models faster to improve, more reproducible, and more accurate by developing innovative approaches to coupled climate model calibration and model updates. The program, called "Accelerating Development Cycles for Coupled Climate Models", will fund up to five teams with up to $2 million each over 24 months to implement and test new methods, including machine learning, improved physical process representations, and advanced calibration workflows, demonstrating both reduced model bias and long-term model stability.

Multi-institutional teams are strongly encouraged.

Important Information

Only five projects will ultimately qualify for funding.

FAQs here. With more information here.

If you are considering an application in which you are the Principal Investigator, please ensure you meet PI eligibility requirements.

Process

This is a two-step application process:

If invited to submit a full proposal (step 2), it will be managed by the Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA).