The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot program “aims to connect U.S. researchers and educators to computational, data, and training resources needed to advance AI research and research that employs AI.” With the dramatic increase in recent years in AI-related research, both in scale and frequency, these frontier-class resources – available at no charge – are a deep, rich pool for researchers engaged with AI projects.

Researchers can apply for various resources, such as the latest GPUs, AI models, and compute platforms. In addition, faculty can request educational resources, including platforms such as computational notebooks, for classroom or project use.

What is especially exciting is that NAIRR democratizes access to leading-edge AI resources that historically were unattainable to smaller institutions such as Swarthmore. Even today, given the cost of GPUs, memory, and other computational resources, in addition to heightened requirements for cooling and physical space, access to robust AI resources is beyond the reach even of far larger institutions.

Applying for a start-up resource request is straightforward and does not require a formal application. Even for calls that do require a short application, review times are efficient. The bottom line is that if you are planning to work on an AI project or research, NAIRR resources are worth strong consideration. Should you have questions about creating a research ecosystem for your work, please reach out to Jason Simms (jsimms1@swarthmore.edu).