Spirograph

CodeLab Faculty Grants

Apply by Nov. 24 to a CM-A CodeLab Grant to support creative research, pedagogical projects, or critical perspectives at the intersection of design, computing, and the built environment. 

Amount

Awards will range between $2,000 and $10,000 USD. A total of $30,000 can be awarded in this cycle.

How do I apply?

Submit an application by November 24 to Meredith Marsh (mamarsh@andrew.cmu.edu). Applications should consist of a single PDF file including the following:

  • Project title; 100-word project description; names and affiliations of all team members; representative image (one page);
  • Description of the project/course/event outlining: relevance to the award, methods, expected results, and a basic timeline (one page);
  • Brief bio/s and affiliation/s (one page);
  • Budget (one page)

Criteria

The award committee welcomes a wide range of projects, in particular those that: 

  • Advance creative research, pedagogical agendas, or critical perspectives at the intersection of design, computing, and the built environment;
  • Strengthen or instigate new research groups and labs comprising Computational Design faculty and students, including collaborations with other CM-A and/or CMU faculty and programs;
  • Illuminate contemporary subjects such as AI, machine learning, and robotics, and problematize their entanglement with questions of creativity, materials, labor, or the environment.
  • Take a cross-disciplinary perspective by drawing on methods from the arts, humanities, social sciences, and technical fields. Proposals involving historical and sociotechnical questions and methods, for example, are equally welcome as those centered on technical or application-focused research. 

Eligibility

Faculty in the CM-A Computational Design program (CD) including those in the tenure, teaching, and special faculty tracks are eligible to apply. CM-A faculty members outside of CD are warmly invited to apply as co-applicants with a CD faculty member. Joint projects and collaborations between CD faculty and faculty in other CM-A programs—and in other university units—are especially encouraged. 

Period of development

Projects should be completed between January and December 2026. 

Review committee

The names of the review committee members will be announced on October 15. The committee might include a representative of the CMU-A leadership; a representative of the CD faculty; and one or two external members.

Timeline

  • Sep 19, 2025        Program is announced
  • Nov 24 2025        Submissions deadline
  • Dec 17 2025        Decisions are announced

  • Jan 12 2026         Grant period starts

     

Frequently asked questions

  • Award funds can be used to support a wide range of projects and activities. For example: the purchase of materials or software for prototypes, installations, and demonstrations; compensating graduate research assistants; contributing to faculty or graduate RA summer salaries; research travel; editorial services, image rights, or other publication-related expenses; partial or full course releases. The funds can also be used to support the organization of events such as lectures or symposia, guest travel, honoraria, and course preparation activities. Note: The grant may not be used to update facilities or standard office equipment. 

  • Yes! CM-A faculty members who are not part of the CD program are welcome to apply to this grant as co-applicants with a CD faculty member. 

  • If the budget includes summer salary payments, an additional 8% should be included for the corresponding amounts in order to account for university benefits charges.

  • Awardees are required to get a Procurement Card from the University to manage their expense account directly. Assistance with specific purchases at the school or program level is unfortunately not possible.

  • Due to migratory and work regulations outside of CMU’s control, visiting scholars are only eligible to apply if they are US citizens or permanent residents. Visiting scholars who are not US residents are encouraged to partner with a full-time faculty member in order to participate. 

  • This grant program is enabled by a 2024 gift from Autodesk to the CM-A Computational Design Laboratory.

  • Questions about the application process can be addressed to Meredith Marsh (mamarsh@andrew.cmu.edu). If you have an idea you wish to discuss, e-mail Daniel Cardoso Llach (dcardoso@andrew.cmu.edu). 

The Computational Design Laboratory (CodeLab)

CodeLab is CM-A's research and learning laboratory rethinking the role of computing in design and the built environment. Fundamentally interdisciplinary and experimental, CodeLab's faculty and students bring together methods from architecture, engineering, art, and the humanities to critically reimagine the interplay of computing, space, and design. 

One of the school's three research institutes, CodeLab operates as a "lab of labs" with affiliated faculty leading research groups and laboratories with autonomy, an experimental disposition, and a shared emphasis on critical technical practice. Current research explores subjects such as architectural robotics, artificial intelligence, architectural digital heritage, computational design of structures, tangible interaction, as well as historical and sociotechnical questions concerning computing in architecture and other creative fields.

Here you can see a collection of recent CodeLab theses and dissertations. And here a selection of recent projects and publications.