CBI Fellowship Program
Announcement
We will announce the 2025 CBI fellows by mid April, following our January 31, 2025 application deadline.
Description
Carnegie Bosch Fellowships are two-year awards supporting outstanding postdoctoral researchers conducting high-potential research within the excellence-driven environment of CMU. Offering benefits beyond ‘traditional’ postdoc roles, fellows are provided with the resources, flexibility, and environment to address “grand challenge” style problems in line with their research vision together with their faculty host. Postdoctoral positions supported by CBI provide remarkable opportunities to shape the next generation of research while offering fellows the chance to develop their academic careers in exceptional directions. Fellowship recipients are expected to broadly disseminate their research results via active engagement with the international research community in their respective fields and will be provided resources to aid with these efforts, e.g. conference registration and travel.
Carnegie Bosch Fellows are hosted within colleges at CMU and provided with mentorship and direction from world-class faculty as well as access to industry-grade resources from Bosch. Specifically, fellows are paired with a faculty host working to inspire and guide their overall research efforts, and benefit from the connection to an additional distinguished member of the senior faculty offering unique mentorship support. In addition, fellows will be given the opportunity to be introduced to experts from the global Bosch Corporate Research organization, providing additional insight and counsel from an industrial perspective and sharing access to real-world challenges from domains including mobility and advanced manufacturing.
Research areas
Carnegie Bosch Fellowships are intended to support researchers working in the fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity/privacy, robotics, and sustainability. A broad range of research interests within these four areas will be considered from theory to application, with preference being given to applicants with strong Research Statements (as indicated in the application requirements) demonstrating: compelling future vision (including potential follow-on opportunities), collaborative approach (connection to/building on efforts already underway), and broader positive societal impact.
Faculty collaboration hosts
Carnegie Bosch fellows are matched with world-class faculty at CMU that will serve as their primary hosts during the fellowship. Fellowship applicants are invited to discuss potential collaboration opportunities/interests in advance of application submission. Candidates should include a brief Letter of Support from the prospective faculty host as indicated in the application requirements below.
See the list of potential faculty hosts across research areas.
Distinguished faculty mentors
Carnegie Bosch fellows will benefit from the unique opportunity to be mentored by pioneering leaders in their respective fields. Tom Mitchell (Founders University Professor in the School of Computer Science) will contribute his expertise in artificial intelligence, while Lorrie Cranor (Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor in Security and Privacy Technologies of the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute) will serve as a mentor in cybersecurity/privacy. Fellows will have the chance to meet regularly with these distinguished faculty, benefitting both from their deep technical knowledge as well as the experiences of their own exceptional academic careers.
Application requirements
- Cover Letter
- Curriculum Vitae
- Research Statement (maximum three pages), outlining a compelling long-term vision for a research program whose development would be supported by participation in the CBI Fellowship Program:
- How will you use the time and resources provided by your fellowship to advance this vision?
- How will you take advantage of collaboration opportunities at CMU (and beyond)?
- What will be the eventual impact of this research beyond the core technical results? How will it impact society in a transformative way (e.g., safety, efficiency, trustworthiness)?
- Professional References (maximum three)
- Letter of Support (maximum one page) from prospective faculty collaboration host at CMU
2024 frequently asked questions
Are non-residents eligible to apply?
Yes, non-residents are definitely eligible to apply–we just need to work within CMU's regulations.
Can faculty hosts support more than one applicant?
Faculty hosts can write letters of support for more than one applicant, but in the end will only be able to host one applicant.
Can I choose a faculty member who is not on the faculty host list to sponsor me?
Applicants should reach out to cbi@andrew.cmu.edu as soon as possible to propose a CMU faculty host not included in the faculty host list.
Can I do the CBI fellowship remotely?
Not at this time. We want to host this group of postdocs on campus to help get them connected to the CMU community as well as to each other. As part of that, we’re planning to put together a good amount of programming that will be challenging to take advantage of remotely, so in this case, spending the bulk of the time in an international location will not be a good fit.
Can I work with two faculty hosts?
You can work with two faculty hosts as long as they both agree to that. For the application, you only need to submit a letter from one host.
Can the faculty host be one of the references?
Yes, so long as you've had a working relationship with them in the past, but the broadest set of support will be beneficial to your application.
How many fellowships will you offer this year?
The number of fellowships is not fixed and may vary from year to year. On average to date, three to five fellowships have been awarded.
What compensation is offered?
The pay for the fellowship will fall in the range of $70,000 - $90,000 per year and standard CMU benefits for postdoctoral positions will be offered. Additionally, fellowship recipients will be expected to broadly disseminate their research results via active engagement with the international research community in their respective fields and will be provided resources to aid with these efforts, e.g. conference registration and travel.
What should go in the letter of support?
Please include a couple paragraphs/sentences to indicate why you think the person is a great candidate and why you would want to work with that candidate.
Who will lead the selection of candidates?
We have a committee comprised of CMU faculty and members of the Bosch Pittsburgh research staff, also including input from our Distinguished Faculty Advisors, Lorrie Cranor and Tom Mitchell.
When will you make your decision?
We anticipate reviews and interviews will be conducted in March and we will announce the CBI fellows by mid April, following our January 31, 2025 application deadline.
What are the formatting guidelines for the research statement?
- Length: Maximum of three pages
- Font: Use a font size of 10 points or larger for Arial, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype. For Times New Roman or Computer Modern, use a font size of 11 points or larger.
- Margins: Use margins of at least one inch in all directions.
- Line spacing: Use no more than six lines of text per inch (i.e., single spaced).
- Paper size: Use standard US letter paper size (8.5 in x 11 in). Pictures/charts/graphs may be included, but they must be within the three-page limit
- Bibliography is not required, but may be included and would NOT count towards the 3 pages.
Are the letters of reference due at the same time as the application?
All letters of reference are due one week after the application deadline. Reminders will be automatically sent to the requested reference writers.
Are current CMU postdocs eligible to apply?
Yes, CMU postdocs are eligible. The CBI Fellowship would then extend their funding for up to two years.
Is it possible to extend the application deadline in the case of extenuating circumstances?
Unfortunately, we are not able to grant any extensions in fairness to other applicants and to maintain our decision timeline. If you are experiencing technical difficulties with the submission portal, please contact cbi@andrew.cmu.edu prior to the deadline.
If I am a faculty host for a current CBI fellow. Can I also support another candidate in the next annual application process?
No, you cannot be a faculty host for two CBI fellows at the same time. The only exception would be if you are a co-host for a current fellow; then you may co-host an additional one the following year.
How can I be added to the roster of CBI faculty hosts?
Prior to the annual call being released every year, an announcement is sent to the CMU faculty with a link to a brief application. Please contact cbi@andrew.cmu.edu at any time to request the application.
To what time zone is the application portal set?
All deadlines and times for CBI are in US Eastern Standard Time.
Does the applicant or the faculty host submit the letter of support?
The letter of support from the faculty host must be submitted by the applicant into InfoReady, along with the other application materials. The reference letter(s) are submitted separately via automated links sent directly from InfoReady to the requested reference writers.
What is the start date of the fellowship?
The start date is typically at the beginning of the Fall academic term, but CBI will work with the fellow and faculty host on the specific timing most ideal for each fellow.
Questions?
Contact the CBI team at cbi@andrew.cmu.edu.
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