Junior Faculty Fellows Program
2026 nominations are due 4/9/2026.
The Hariri Institute’s Junior Faculty Fellows program aims to both recognize outstanding early-career computing and data-driven researchers at Boston University and support their continued development by connecting them with one another and with the Institute community at large through various mechanisms and activities.
Since 2011, the Institute has awarded 89 Junior Faculty Fellows across 29 departments and eight colleges. From social sciences, humanities, law, business, and medicine to engineering, computer science, and statistics, the Junior Faculty Fellows Program is committed to enabling and supporting a community of researchers across BU schools and colleges.
Department Chairs can nominate Assistant Professors who fit the fellowship criteria. View eligibility, criteria and nomination process below.
View our current cohort of Junior Faculty Fellows here.
Benefits for Junior Faculty Fellow Participation
- $10,000 award to advance the fellow’s computational and data science research at Boston University
- Collaborate with other Junior Faculty Fellow cohorts to organize and support Institute-sponsored events (e.g., seminars, panels, etc.)
- Engage with the Institute’s substantial network of academic, government, and industry partners around computing and data-driven research
- Promotion of their research achievements and support of their grant applications from the Hariri Institute’s Administrative Staff
We ask that you keep your nominations confidential, and do not inform candidates of their nomination.
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Program Details
Junior Faculty Fellows are appointed for a three-year term based on nominations submitted by their department chair and evaluated by the Hariri Institute’s Steering Committee. In addition to a $10,000 award to further their computational and data science research at Boston University, Junior Faculty Fellows are provided a variety of opportunities to collaborate with other researchers affiliated with the Institute and interact with high profile leaders in computing-enabled and data driven areas through the Institute’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Junior Faculty Fellows also have access to request administrative resources such as event planning, communication and grant support from the Hariri Institute’s Administrative Staff.
Eligibility
Candidates are Boston University Assistant Professors who are pursuing computing, computational, or data-driven research. They must have held a full-time appointment in any one of BU’s departments for less than three years.
Selection Criteria
We ask that you keep your nominations confidential, and do not inform candidates of their nomination.
This is a competitive program. We recommend recommendation letters address the following selection criteria:
1. Overall strength, novelty, and impact of the proposed research
2. Clear commitment to computing-enabled interdisciplinary research
3. Relevance of research to public and social good
Nomination Process
Department chairs can nominate Assistant Professors who fit the fellowship criteria by completing the nomination form. We ask that you keep your nominations confidential, and do not inform candidates of their nomination.
Each spring semester, a handful of junior faculty members are selected for this honor, based on nominations submitted by department chairs and evaluation by the Hariri Institute’s Steering Committee. Departments are notified in May if their nominee was selected. Candidates selected for this award are notified shortly following the Department’s communication. A formal cohort announcement is made at the start of the summer.
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For administrative questions, please contact Stephen Brown, Executive Director, at stbrown@bu.edu.