{"id":42035,"date":"2019-03-04T12:04:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T17:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/?p=42035"},"modified":"2019-03-04T12:04:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T17:04:15","slug":"microsoft-al-for-earth-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/2019\/03\/04\/microsoft-al-for-earth-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Al for Earth Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/a\/ai-for-earth-grants<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Program details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AI for Earth\ngrants provide access to advanced Microsoft Azure cloud computing resources to\nsupport projects that change the way people and organizations monitor, model,\nand ultimately manage Earth\u2019s natural systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What types of\ngrants do you offer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently AI for\nEarth provides two types of grants. Each round, you can apply to either, or\nboth, depending on your project needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Data labeling services<\/strong>: An important prerequisite for most AI projects is having an accurately labeled dataset to train your model on. Thus, we provide grants to help label key datasets in our four environmental focus areas. All datasets that are labeled through our grants program are hosted on Azure and made publicly available to other organizations and individuals for training models. The amount granted is dependent on size of dataset and difficulty of labeling.<\/li><li><strong>Azure compute credits<\/strong>: If you already have access to a labeled dataset and are ready to start computing in the cloud and accessing Azure AI tools, this grant provides you with Azure compute credits worth $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 (depending on your project scope and needs). By being a member of the AI for Earth grantee community, you also have access to additional resources (technical advice and support, online Azure training materials, as well as invitations to the AI for Earth Summit for networking and education opportunities).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What environmental\nareas does the program focus on?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>AI for Earth awards grants to projects that address four areas that are\nvital for building a sustainable future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Agriculture:<\/strong> To feed the world\u2019s rapidly growing\npopulation, farmers must produce more food, on less arable land, and with lower\nenvironmental impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Biodiversity:<\/strong> Species are going extinct at alarming rates,\ndriving the decay of key ecosystem services like pollination on which humans\ndepend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Climate\nchange:<\/strong> Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, higher\nglobal temperatures, and increased ocean acidity threaten human health,\ninfrastructure, and the natural systems we rely on for life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Water:<\/strong>\nIn the next two decades, demand for fresh water\u2014for human consumption,\nagriculture, and hygiene\u2014is predicted to dramatically outpace supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td>   <\/td><td><strong>Submission<\/strong><br><br>Submit your proposal via the <a href=\"https:\/\/nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsrprograms.cloudapp.net%2FAI4EARTHGrants&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRschSrvsGA8%40uakron.edu%7C5dd2209dbf9f45f34dcc08d6a0aeef7d%7Ce8575dedd7f94ecea4aa0b32991aeedd%7C1%7C0%7C636873070528036798&amp;sdata=JxOvBgf8AHmCx0%2F5C%2BcwbKruud5ynluSvd%2FuVO6YFy4%3D&amp;reserved=0\">online   application form<\/a>.   \u00a0   The grant application includes an online form with two sections, one for   data labeling services and one for Azure credits. Fill out either or both,   depending on the resources you need for your project. For Azure compute   grants, you will also fill out a written <strong>project proposal<\/strong>   (details below) that is uploaded in the Files section of the Online   Application System.   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>  <\/td><td><br>   <strong>Deadline<\/strong> <br><br>   We accept proposals on a rolling basis and review them four times a year.   Our next evaluation will be for all proposals submitted by <strong>11:59 PM   Pacific Time, April 8, 2019<\/strong>. This is the second deadline for 2019.   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>   <strong>Q<\/strong><\/td><td><br><strong>Qualified Applicants<\/strong><br><br>   Applicants can be affiliated with an academic institution, nonprofit   organization, government entity, environmental start-up, or an innovative   project within a company. For the Azure compute grants, we recommend that the   main applicant has a demonstrated background in environmental science and\/or   technology, and that <strong>at least one member of the team has strong   enough technical skills to complete the project successfully<\/strong>.   Applicants should be close to or done with their data collection and ready to   start with computation and model building.   \u00a0   Esri will also consider AI for Earth grant recipients who are affiliated   with academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and start-ups for a   sponsored subscription to ArcGIS Pro. <a href=\"https:\/\/nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.esri.com%2Fen%2Farcgis%2Fproducts%2Farcgis-pro%2Foverview&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRschSrvsGA8%40uakron.edu%7C5dd2209dbf9f45f34dcc08d6a0aeef7d%7Ce8575dedd7f94ecea4aa0b32991aeedd%7C1%7C0%7C636873070528046799&amp;sdata=3glpp6PGwZnoUOpUErUVOCHFFlt3hsXaFsgePHKmdTY%3D&amp;reserved=0\">ArcGIS   Pro<\/a> is a leading geospatial software for creating maps, performing   spatial analysis, and managing data.   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>   <\/td><td><br><strong>   Project Proposal<\/strong><br><br>The most important part of each Azure compute grant application is a   project proposal that describes the environmental challenge addressed, the   datasets used for analysis, the technical solution proposed, and its   potential impact. Proposals should be written in English and not exceed three   pages. While there is no specific format for proposals, a guideline is below   that outlines information that is important to include:   \u00a0   <br><strong>Title<\/strong>:  \u00a0   <strong>Team members\/collaborators<\/strong>       List one project leader first, then include all other team members afterwards. Include names, roles, and institutional affiliations for each member.    \u00a0   <strong>1-2 sentence summary of your project<\/strong>   \u00a0   <br><br><strong>Project summary:<\/strong>  What challenge are you addressing? What is your proposed solution? Approximate timeline for key project milestones? How does your project build on existing research? What datasets will you use for your analyses? Is this data already collected? Is your data labeled and ready to be used as training data?      \u00a0   <br><br><strong>Technical component:<\/strong> What Microsoft Azure offerings will you use? We\u2019re particularly interested in projects that use AI and machine learning. You can see what\u2019s available at <a href=\"https:\/\/nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fazure.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fservices%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRschSrvsGA8%40uakron.edu%7C5dd2209dbf9f45f34dcc08d6a0aeef7d%7Ce8575dedd7f94ecea4aa0b32991aeedd%7C1%7C0%7C636873070528046799&amp;sdata=8AKYH2itgSz%2BcfeaECMJTp2M6LRFpc%2FIjfj3BGHC9Xg%3D&amp;reserved=0\">Azure Cloud Services<\/a>. We offer $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000 grants. Justify the amount your project will need (you can calculate an estimate using the <a href=\"https:\/\/nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fazure.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fpricing%2Fcalculator%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRschSrvsGA8%40uakron.edu%7C5dd2209dbf9f45f34dcc08d6a0aeef7d%7Ce8575dedd7f94ecea4aa0b32991aeedd%7C1%7C0%7C636873070528056808&amp;sdata=W%2Bb2D8IgR5rJTV8NtEvm94ZbOnA1iUCiW3hphPcrHuc%3D&amp;reserved=0\">Azure        calculator<\/a>). Do you have the resources and technical skills to complete the project successfully? Has anyone on your team used Azure or another cloud computing service before?      \u00a0   <br><br><strong>Impact<\/strong>: How does your project align with the AI for Earth areas of focus (agriculture, food, biodiversity, and\/or climate change)? How does your project transform the way we address environmental challenges? How will the results of your project be leveraged and beneficial to a community of users? Are you creating tools, APIs, or applications that can be used? Will they be open-source? Where will your project have direct positive impact? (Be specific about geographic locations.)  <a href=\"https:\/\/nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.microsoft.com%2Fdownload%2FC%2FE%2FA%2FCEACFE2D-CF21-4581-8F68-BDD0A6CEC4F9%2FAIforEarth-Grant-Proposal-Example.docx&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRschSrvsGA8%40uakron.edu%7C5dd2209dbf9f45f34dcc08d6a0aeef7d%7Ce8575dedd7f94ecea4aa0b32991aeedd%7C1%7C0%7C636873070528056808&amp;sdata=9gggKZjfqs8dGmga%2FCIoEyiYk8%2BljdMUpGxP0Hkwm4U%3D&amp;reserved=0\">Download the sample project proposal for reference<\/a>   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cloud computing and\ndata science tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Grantees get access to Microsoft Azure cloud computing resources and a\nvariety of data science and machine learning tools, including powerful assets\nin the the Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit and the <a href=\"https:\/\/nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2Fdsvm%2Fwin2016&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRschSrvsGA8%40uakron.edu%7C5dd2209dbf9f45f34dcc08d6a0aeef7d%7Ce8575dedd7f94ecea4aa0b32991aeedd%7C1%7C0%7C636873070528066817&amp;sdata=O2AodOEeHnoOUJF9RJErT7xmfsamLKU4kZzPv%2BQBdwU%3D&amp;reserved=0\">GeoAI\nData Science Virtual Machine (DSVM)<\/a>. Grantees will receive 12 months of\nfree resources worth $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, depending on project needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/a\/ai-for-earth-grants Program details AI for Earth grants provide access to advanced Microsoft Azure cloud computing resources to support projects that change the way people and organizations monitor, model, and ultimately manage Earth\u2019s natural systems. What types of grants do you &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/2019\/03\/04\/microsoft-al-for-earth-grants\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3755,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3755"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42039,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42035\/revisions\/42039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/researchnewsinfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}