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Physics of Information
An International Request for Proposals

The RFP is now closed. Grantees will be announced around September 2013.

Download the official RFP document here.

I. BACKGROUND ON FQXi

The Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi) is an independent, philanthropically funded grant-awarding non-profit organization. Since 2006, FQXi has recommended over $7.6 million in grants to researchers and outreach specialists, within the US and internationally, focused on foundational questions. A listing of our previous grantees can be found here.

Our mission is to catalyze, support, and disseminate research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.

FQXi offers grants that serve a three-fold purpose:

• To encourage and support rigorous, innovative, and influential scientific research and collaborations on foundational questions in physics and cosmology, which may have significant and broad implications for a deep understanding of reality;
  
  

• To redress incrementalism in research programming by establishing or expanding new ‘islands’ of understanding via flexible funding of high-risk, high-reward research in these areas;
  
  

• To provide the public with a deeper understanding of known and future discoveries in these areas, and their potential implications for our worldview.
  
  

In support of these goals, FQXi will offer grants of varying value to exceptional and rigorous scientific research proposals that meet the criteria described below.

II. FOCUS ON THE PHYSICS OF INFORMATION

FQXi’s programming encompasses both ‘open’ requests for proposals and more targeted programs in particular areas of thought. The current request for proposals targets research regarding “Physics of Information”.

The past century in fundamental physics has shown a steady progression away from thinking about physics, at its deepest level, as a description of material objects and their interactions, and towards physics as a description of the evolution of information about and in the physical world. It has become clear that information lies at the heart of statistical mechanics (and thermodynamics), quantum mechanics, and even general relativity. In turn, deep analysis of these physical theories has led to significant advances in thinking about information.

Moreover, recent years have shown an explosion of research interest at the nexus of physics and information, driven by the "information age" in which we live, and more importantly by developments in quantum information theory and computer science. These studies, however, tend to focus on practical applications and fundamental theory but not foundational questions. Moreover, it is often unclear whether different researchers are even talking about the same fundamental entities, or what the relations are between them.

FQXi requests proposals for rigorous research on the Physics of Information both in physics and also in related fields including cosmology, astrophysics, mathematics, computer science, complex systems, biology, and neuroscience. Funded research will address this gap between research and technological progress on information science on one side, and active study of the true physical nature of information on the other. It will also, by bringing together the community in a focused and intense effort, seek to help develop a common understanding of the different types of information and the roles they play. Most importantly, the research supported by this program should have significant implications for our understanding of the major questions across many scientific disciplines, and address the deep or ‘ultimate’ nature of reality.

III. EVALUATION CRITERIA & PROJECT ELIGIBILITY

In our 2013 competition, grants totaling about $3.0M will be available to researchers in academic and other non-profit institutions worldwide for projects up to two years in duration. The timeline for all grants awarded will be September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014 (for one-year grants) or August 31, 2015 (for two-year grants). Grant applications will be subject to a competitive process of external and confidential expert peer review similar to that employed by all major U.S. scientific funding agencies.

Proposals will be evaluated according to their relevance and impact.

• Relevance: Proposals should be topical, foundational, and unconventional.

  • Topical: This RFP is limited to research in physics (mainly quantum physics, high energy ‘fundamental’ physics, and gravity), cosmology (mainly of the early universe) and closely related fields (such as biophysics, complexity theory, computer science, etc.). Research should bear upon the Physics of Information. Appropriate research topics in this category will address questions such as (a longer list of questions is given in Appendix B):

    1. What is the relationship between information and reality? Can information exist without any “material” substance? Can matter exist without any information? Or, are information and reality two sides of the same coin?
    2. How does nature (the universe and things therein) process information? Are there fundamental limits? How is nature shaped and transformed by processing information?
    3. What are the fundamental differences between classical and quantum information?
    4. What can the physics of information reveal about black holes, singularities, physics at the Planck length, and the origins and fate of our universe?

  • Foundational: This RFP is limited to research with potentially significant and broad implications for our understanding of the deep or “ultimate” nature of reality.

  • Unconventional: This RFP is intended to fill a gap, not a shortfall, in conventional funding. We wish to enable research that, because of its speculative, non-mainstream, or high-risk nature, would otherwise go unperformed due to lack of available monies. Thus, although there will be inevitable overlaps, an otherwise scientifically rigorous proposal that is a good candidate for an FQXi grant will generally not be a good candidate for funding by the NSF, DOE, etc.—and vice versa.

• Impact: Proposals will be rated according to their expected scientific impact per dollar, taking all relevant factors into account, such as:

  • Intrinsic intellectual merit, scientific rigor and originality
  • Potential for significant contribution to basic science relevant to the topic and a high product of likelihood for success and importance if successful (i.e., high-risk research can be supported as long as the potential payoff is also very high)
  • The likelihood of the research opening fruitful new lines of scientific inquiry
  • The feasibility of the research in the given time frame
  • The qualifications of the Principal Investigator and team with respect to the proposed topic
  • The part a grant may play in career development
  • Cost effectiveness: Tight budgeting is encouraged in order to maximize the research impact of the project as a whole, with emphasis on scientific return per dollar rather than per proposal
  • Potential to impact the greater scientific community as well as the general public via effective outreach and dissemination of the research results

Because of the unconventional nature of the FQXi mission, we encourage part-time work (15% to 40%), in parallel with the scientist's usual research, rather than full-time appointments or studentships. Acceptable use of grant funds include:

• Student or postdoctoral salary and benefits for part of the academic year
• Summer salary and teaching buyout for academics
• Support for specific projects during sabbaticals
• Assistance in writing or publishing books
• Modest allowance for justifiable lab equipment, computers, publication charges, and other supplies
• Modest travel allowance
• Experimental equipment (Keep in mind that while FQXi is very interested in experimental proposals, the total available funding means that funding for large equipment purchases will be unlikely.)
• Development of large workshops, conferences, or lecture series for professionals (Note that small programs of this type, and others costing less than US $15K, are best supported by an FQXi Mini-Grant. Mini-Grant applications, however, are restricted to FQXi Members.)
• Development of outreach or educational programs for laypeople that disseminate knowledge regarding foundational questions in physics and cosmology (The impact criterion, in this case, will be judged on the proposal's ability to disseminate knowledge rather than develop it. Note that small programs of this type are best supported by an FQXi Mini-Grant. Mini-Grant applications, however, are restricted to FQXi Members.)
• Overhead of at most 15% (Please note if this is an issue with your institute, you can contact FQXi to learn about other organizations that can help administer FQXi grants.)

To aid prospective applicants in determining whether a project is appropriate for FQXi, we have provided lists of questions and topics that make suitable targets for research funded under this program on the Examples page. The page also includes past FQXi-funded projects that may have qualified for this grant round.

IV. APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications will be accepted electronically through a standard form on our website (click here for application) and evaluated in a two-part process, as follows:

1. INITIAL PROPOSAL—DUE January 16, 2013—Must include:

• A 300–500 word summary of the project, explicitly addressing why it is topical, foundational and unconventional

• A draft budget description not exceeding 200 words, including an approximate total cost over the life of the award and explanation of how funds would be spent

• A Curriculum Vitae for the Principal Investigator, which MUST be in PDF format, including:

  • Education and employment history

  • A list of references of up to five previous publications relevant to the proposed research and up to five additional representative publications

  • Full publication list

A review panel assembled by FQXi will screen each Initial Proposal according to the criteria in Section III. Based on their assessment, the Principal Investigator (PI) may be invited to submit a Full Proposal, on or about March 1, 2013, perhaps with feedback from FQXi on improving the proposal. Please keep in mind that however positive FQXi may be about a proposal at any stage, it may still be turned down for funding after full peer review.

2. FULL PROPOSAL—DUE April 30, 2013—Must Include:

• Cover sheet

• A 200-word project abstract, suitable for publication in an academic journal

• A project summary not exceeding 200 words, explaining the work and its significance to laypeople

• A detailed description of the proposed research, not to exceed 15 single-spaced 11-point pages, including a short statement of how the application fits into the applicant's present research program, and a description of how the results might be communicated to the wider scientific community and general public

• A detailed budget over the life of the award, with justification and utilization distribution (preferably drafted by your institution’s grant officer or equivalent)

• A list, for all project senior personnel, of all present and pending financial support, including project name, funding source, dates, amount, and status (current or pending)

• Evidence of tax-exempt status of grantee institution, if other than a US university

• Names of 3 recommended referees

• Curricula Vitae for all project senior personnel, including:

  • Education and employment history

  • A list of references of up to five previous publications relevant to the proposed research, and up to five additional representative publications

  • Full publication list

• For past awardees only: A 250-word statement explaining what was done with previous funding and how that ties in to the current proposal (if at all)

Completed Full Proposals will undergo a competitive process of external and confidential expert peer review, evaluated according to the criteria described in Section III. A review panel of scientists in the relevant fields will be convened to produce a final rank ordering of the proposals, which will determine the grant winners, and make budgetary adjustments if necessary. Public award recommendations will be made on or about August 1, 2013.

V. FUNDING PROCESS

FQXi will direct these grants through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. FQXi will solicit and review grant applications, and on the basis of these reviews, FQXi will advise the DAF on what grants to make. After grants have been made by the DAF, FQXi will work with the DAF to monitor the grantee’s performance via grant reports. In this way, researchers will continue to interact with FQXi, while the DAF interacts mostly with their institutes’ administrative or grants management offices. Funds for this RFP were made possible through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.