Grand Challenge Program

21st Annual Computing Grand Challenge Call for Proposals Due August 26

The Computing Directorate has issued a call for proposals for projects requiring significant unclassified computing resource allocations (greater than 25,000 node-hours/year) on institutional capability systems for up to one year.

This call for proposals to use high performance computing (HPC) resources is open to all Laboratory scientists and engineers. Current grand challenge principal investigators must reapply to be considered for continued computer time. Projects can request allocations on Tuolumne and Dane or some combination of these systems.

Approximately 15 to 20 proposals will be selected to receive these significant allocations. To be considered, proposals must address a compelling, Grand-Challenge-scale, mission-related problem that pushes the envelope of capability computing while promising unprecedented discoveries in a particular scientific and/or engineering field of research. A successful project would be expected to receive high-level recognition from mission sponsors, the computing community, and the scientific community at large. Prospective PIs are encouraged to watch past committee chair Erik Draeger give a brief overview of Computing Grand Challenge program objectives describing the proposal writing and review process.

Note that the Computing Grand Challenge program does not award or cause to be awarded any funds – proposals selected for award through this call are expected to be fully funded, either institutionally or externally.

Proposals must be submitted via e-mail by Wednesday, August 26, 2026, to computing-grand-challenge [at] llnl.gov (computing-grand-challenge[at]llnl[dot]gov) in PDF or MS Word format. This is a firm deadline, any proposals received after this date may not be accepted. All proposals must adhere to the proposal content and length guidelines, which have changed significantly relative to previous years. Acknowledgement of receipt of your proposal will be sent within two business days. If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please resend your proposal. Grand Challenge computing allocations awarded under this program will be announced January 4, 2027.

See the chart for allocations awarded under the Computing Grand Challenge program. 

Grand Challenge Proposal Information (future proposals due in August)

How it works

Grand Challenge allocations are awarded annually through a competitive proposal process. The majority of allocations are "Tier 2" awards (25k-50k node-hours), with a smaller number of larger "Tier 1" awards (100k-200k node-hours) given to the highest-ranked proposals that described a compelling need for the additional resources. Lists of all current and past awardees can be found here.

Who can apply

Any LLNL employee can apply! Grand Challenge awards are given solely on the basis of technical merit and anticipated impact. The awards are for compute time only, so applicants must have suitable funding in place to cover their effort in performing the proposed simulation campaigns. Timeline for next Grand Challenge coming soon!

Timeline for 2027 Computing Grand Challenge program

August 4, 2026 at 1pm: Grand Challenge Town Hall

August 26, 2026: Proposals due

November 13, 2026: Review deadline

January 4, 2027: Awardees announced in Newsline