Faculty project proposals for Summer 2026 must focus on one of the three thematic areas listed above. Each project should involve two or more distinct academic disciplines, with one identified project lead (typically faculty from different departments). Faculty may submit multiple proposals; however, each faculty member may lead only one project during the Summer 2026 session.
Faculty proposal portal opens: February 9
Proposal deadline: March 6
When completing the proposal on the OURConnect Portal, select only one Research Area:
Global Security
Global Health
Global Sustainability
In the Project Description, faculty should clearly describe:
The interdisciplinary nature of the project
How the project addresses a challenge within the selected research area
The Summer 2026 session runs from May 19 through August 8 and supports a full-time undergraduate research experience over 10 weeks (40 hours per week). Each participating student receives a $5,000 fellowship, distributed in installments throughout the session. Of this amount, 66.68% is funded by DUIRI, while 33.32% is typically supported by the faculty leading the project. When a project is supported by a partnering institute, this 33.32% cost share may be covered by the institute, reducing the financial responsibility for individual faculty.
For Summer 2026, DUIRI will partner with the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) and the Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF).
Projects submitted under the Global Security category will be supported by CERIAS and should align with research focus areas such as security and privacy, human-centric security, network and end-system security, policy and risk management, and prevention, detection, and response. Projects suitable for CERIAS partnership should explicitly include “CERIAS” in the project title and clearly articulate how the work addresses a global security challenge.
Projects submitted under the Global Sustainability category may be supported by ISF in a non-financial, advisory capacity, similar to prior DUIRI cycles. Projects suitable for ISF engagement should explicitly include “ISF” in the project title and describe how the project addresses a sustainability challenge. Faculty actively engaged with partnering institutes may receive priority consideration in sponsored research areas.
Faculty may submit project abstracts via the DUIRI website using their Purdue Career Account credentials. Undergraduate students may apply to up to three projects from March 19 to April 6. Faculty project supervisors will review all eligible applications and make final selections by April 24.
During the Summer session, students will engage in full-time research under faculty supervision, culminating in a poster presentation and a one-page abstract or summary of their results.
Undergraduate students from Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis have been selected to participate in the Spring 2026 DUIRI session, featuring 13 interdisciplinary faculty-led projects in Global Health (5), Global Security (3), and Global Sustainability (5).
For more information, please contact duiri@purdue.edu or pramanna@purdue.edu
