The Hill Prizes

Eligibility Requirements

Open to all Texas‑based applicants (including TAMEST members), 15 years or more after their first full-time appointment (2011or earlier).

• Artificial Intelligence: Open to applications from academia, government, medicine and the private sector (including university and government spinout companies).
• Biological Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Physical Sciences and Public Health: Open to applications from all research universities, medical centers, nonprofit research institutes and other scientific organizations in Texas.
• Commercialization, Innovation and Technology (exclusive to private sector): Open to applications from all companies, private research institutes and other scientific and research organizations in the private sector in Texas (including university and government spinout companies).

Applicants must have spent the past two years (at time of submission) performing research in Texas and remain active in the state for at least one year after receiving the prize funding.

Applicants may submit only one proposal per category, and may not submit the same proposal in more than one category. The committee reserves the right to reassign a proposal to a different category if deemed appropriate.

Subcategories may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Artificial Intelligence: Designated for proposals that make substantive, novel, impactful advancement in AI capabilities to address an important challenge. Topics may include:

• Advanced Platform Development for AI
• AI Hardware/Infrastructure Development
• Innovative Training Methods
• Pioneering Applications of AI
• Theoretical Developments and Algorithms (including significant advances in Generative AI, Agentic AI, Artificial General Intelligence, Machine Learning and Optimization)

Biological Sciences:

• Animal Biology
• Ecology and Environmental Science
• Entomology
• Infectious Diseases and Immunology
• Microbiology
• Plant Biology

Commercialization, Innovation and Technology: Designated for proposals in the private sector in applied sciences, biotechnology, engineering, life sciences and medicine. For information, please refer to the separate application guide.

Engineering:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Electronics, Communications, Information Systems and Control Systems
• Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Medicine:

• Autoimmune Disorders
• Cardiopulmonary Diseases
• Clinical Pharmacology
• Gastrointestinal Diseases
• Maternal and Children’s Health
• Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Neuropsychiatric Disorders
• Oncology
• Pathology
• Psychiatry

Physical Sciences:

• Astronomy
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Earth Sciences
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Solar and Space Physics

Public Health: Designated for proposals focused on protecting the health of entire populations through science, technology and policy:

• Behavioral Health
• Biostatistics
• Clinical Cancer Prevention
• Community Health
• Disease Control and Prevention
• Epidemiology
• Environmental and Occupational Health
• Health Disparities
• Health Policy and Management
• Health Promotion and Education
• Mental Health
• Nutrition and Food Safety
• Psychology

A committee of Texas-based members of the National Academies evaluates applications and recommends recipients, in consultation with a panel of National Academies members from outside of Texas. A committee of Texas Nobel and Breakthrough Prize Laureates reviews and endorses the finalists, and the TAMEST Board of Directors provides final approval. Prizes are only given when the committee identifies and selects deserving proposals.

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

• Uniqueness of idea behind the research;
• Potential for commercial application and/or real-world impact;
• Strengths of research group leader and/or team;
• Ability and availability of key personnel and infrastructure to execute the work and achieve success with the prize funding to be awarded.

Apply Online: tamest.org/submit

The following components are required to be submitted as one .pdf document through the online application form. Proposals should be formatted in Times New Roman 11-point font with margins of at least 0.5”. Letters of recommendation or support are not permitted and will not be accepted. Key citations (not to exceed one page) may be included at the end of the single‑PDF proposal.

1.) Cover page (not to exceed one page and must use template), including:

• Selected prize category, and a brief statement on why the proposal fits the selected category;
• Proposal title;
• Summary statement (≤50 words) describing:
  • Summary of the project and why it should be chosen for the Hill Prizes;
  • Potential impact of the project.
• Abstract (≤ 250 words) of proposal addressing the following:
  • What problem are you trying to solve, and how is it addressed today (if at all)?
  • What is novel about your approach?
  • If successful, what will be the impact?
    • For the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Category: What is your substantive, novel advancement(s) in the development of technologies that support AI and/or AI capabilities to address an important challenge?
• Applicant information:
  • Principal Investigator’s name, title and organization;
  • Principal Investigator’s address, email and telephone contact information;
  • Principal Investigator’s year of first full-time appointment (must be 2011 or earlier);
  • Names of Co-Recipient(s) and team members.

2.) Project proposal (up to five pages) defining:

• The problem being addressed, the key gap the proposed work will fill and the
  limitations of current approaches that make the applicant’s solution necessary
  and distinctively novel;
• The potential impact of the work, supported by relevant metrics when
  available, including any potential commercial or translational applications and
  the overall path to impact;
• How the recipient would use the Hill Prizes funding to accelerate their work
  and make a significant impact on society.
  • Applicants should clearly disclose any existing or potential funding for their
    proposal – or any closely related idea – and explain how the Hill Prizes
    funding would be used to bridge a gap or enable meaningful advances for
    their idea in addition to their existing or potential funding.
  • Detailed budgets are not required. However, applicants should list how
    funding would be used (e.g., for equipment, personnel or other major
    expenses), including approximate amounts for each major category.

3.) Biographical summary for the Principal Investigator (NIH/NSF Biosketch accepted, up to three pages), including:

• Education, employment history, honors, recognitions and awards;
• Summary of research interests and activities, including (as applicable) significant grant support or major projects and the PI’s role;
• Citations for up to 10 key publications;
• Synopsis of major discoveries and research contributions;
• Summary statistics on publications, books, patents (if applicable) and reports.

For team members, a brief biographical summary (up to one page) may be included for each team member.

Funding

• Each recipient’s institution or organization will receive $500,000 in direct, non- dilutive funding from Lyda Hill Philanthropies. Funds must adhere to the institution’s spending policies and may not be used for institutional overhead or indirect costs. Funds are expected to be expended in a timely manner to advance the proposed work.
• Proposals should span at least one year with an expected start date in March 2027.
• Applicants retain all intellectual property rights associated with their work.

Ceremony

• Principal Investigators are required to attend the prize ceremony on February 1, 2027, at the TAMEST Annual Conference in Houston, Texas. Travel and lodging will be provided for Principal Investigators to attend.

Reporting

• Recipients must submit reporting to Lyda Hill Philanthropies annually per the terms of the grant agreement.
• TAMEST and Lyda Hill Philanthropies may publicly share information contained in these reports to demonstrate the impact of the prize and support the broader Texas research community.

For questions, please contact TAMEST Program Director Stephanie Shaw at (512) 471-3823 or stephanie.shaw@austin.utexas.edu.