ARIA opens science calls and connects researchers with Google DeepMind tools

ARIA opened applications for new Programme Directors, with submissions due before 28 September and a webinar scheduled for 1 September. New opportunity spaces reflect lessons from ARIA’s first three years, while the Olfactory Perception call is seeking teams to build an Open Olfactory Resource and make chemical signals computationally legible for health, food and environmental monitoring. Applications close on 30 September.

Additional programme activity spans the proposed Ubiquitous Particle Profiling programme, which asks whether particulate matter can be made continuously measurable at scale. Forecasting Tipping Points enters Phase 2, with proposals on ocean observing, forecasting and climate-evidence translation expected in September 2026. Launch 4 Change paired university rocketry teams with schools and youth groups underserved by STEM opportunities, and all 47 groups mentored through the project competed in regional heats before university teams tested climate-measurement payloads at the UK Rocketry Competition finals.

ARIA and Google DeepMind brought more than 160 ARIA-funded researchers together to examine how frontier AI tools can support scientific work, including hypothesis generation, computational discovery, genomics, robotics, Earth observation and weather forecasting. Researchers were introduced to tools including Antigravity, Co-Scientist, AlphaEvolve, AlphaGenome, WeatherNext and Gemini Robotics, and 126 have opted into a Science Trusted Tester pipeline for earlier access, onboarding and feedback channels.