It’s submission time for HP Labs’ 2012 Innovation Research Program

HP Labs is now accepting proposals for its fifth annual Innovation Research Program (IRP).

The program offers professors at colleges, universities and research institutes across the world the chance to work collaboratively with HP researchers on projects that are innovative, ambitious and of potentially significant scientific and societal impact.

This year, prospective lead investigators are invited to apply in one of 27 topic areas, each linked to one or more of HP Labs’ eight main research areas: Cloud & Security, Information Analytics, Intelligent Infrastructure, Mobile and Immersive Experience, Networking and Communications, Printing and Content Delivery, Services Research, and Sustainability.

Successful applicants will receive cash support, typically in the range of USD $50,000 - $75,000 per year, to fund a graduate student and a principal investigator in conducting a joint research project with HP Labs for up to three years.

As in 2011, HP Labs’ Call for Proposals will have two rounds. Researchers can first submit a brief, 3-page online summary of their proposed project. Those abstracts will be reviewed, and selected authors will then be invited to develop and submit a full proposal in a second round to take place in February/March.

The deadline for initial proposals is Friday, 27 January 2012.

Since its inception in 2008, HP’s Innovation Research Program has supported over 150 research projects, with the majority being renewed for two or three years in succession. More than 37 patent filings and over 200 scholarly publications have resulted from IRP projects to date. A number have also resulted in HP Labs demonstrator projects and ensuing technology transfers to HP business units. In 2011, HP funded 62 projects at 51 universities.

“Opening up our innovation process helps bring an important external perspective to our research, as well as providing opportunities for academic and business collaboration,” commented Prith Banerjee, Director of HP Labs at the launch of the 2012 IRP process. “Disruptive innovation comes from great minds working together, which includes HP’s researchers as well as people from the best universities in the world."