Applications are now open for our third cohort of Programme Directors. Design and direct a research programme of around £50m within our newly evolved opportunity spaces. Decide which directions matter most and fund the teams to pursue them. Apply by 28 September: https://bit.ly/4g4OQY4

Do you have a vision for how science and technology could change the world? Applications to become an ARIA Programme Director open at 3pm on Monday 17 August. Let’s build the future, together.

Can we teach machines to smell? Digital olfaction lacks the shared dataset that transformed vision + language. In Olfactory Perception, we'll fund teams to design + build the Open Olfactory Resource: a cross-domain dataset of volatile chemical signals. Apply by 30 Sep: link.aria.org.uk/OP-fp-BS

Funding

Learn more about funding in the Hypersensory Intelligence – Olfactory Perception programme.

link.aria.org.uk

We’re excited to appoint David Lewis as Chief Science and Technology Officer. In this role, David will guide and mentor our Programme Directors as they develop ambitious programmes, strengthen ARIA’s technical culture and help us attract bold new talent and ideas into our ecosystem.

Our latest programme thesis, Ubiquitous Particle Profiling, proposes the development of compact, autonomous systems that can determine the size, shape and composition of airborne particulate matter in real time and trace it back to its source. Learn more: link.aria.org.uk/UPP-thesis-BS

Ubiquitous Particle Profiling | Programme development

Learn more about Ubiquitous Particle Profiling, a new programme we're developing in the Adaptive Machines opportunity space.

link.aria.org.uk

Today we're sharing seven evolved opportunity spaces that reflect what we've learned in our first 3 years about the scientific frontiers where breakthroughs could fundamentally expand what's possible. Explore them here: https://aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces

Opportunity spaces

Explore ARIA’s Opportunity Spaces. Dive into our work on AI, viral resilience, ecosystem engineering, climate and more to see how we’re defining the next frontier of science.

aria.org.uk

What if we organised research around the future technologies we want to create? On Monday at 3pm, we'll share how we're organising our research going forward, and the areas we believe could deliver the greatest breakthroughs for humanity.

From Arctic batteries to robot fingertips Our latest Substack explores the tools and collaborations behind ambitious science — from bespoke hardware built by Amodo Design, to Encode’s AI for Science Fellows, and tactile sensing for robotic hands. Read more: https://bit.ly/4vXV7tq

From Arctic batteries to robot fingertips

Dive into our July update

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Today we’ve published our 2026 Corporate Plan. Three years in, we’ve committed £500m+ across 14 programmes, backing 200+ R&D Creator teams. In 2026, we’ll continue to strengthen pathways that turn bold ideas into transformative breakthroughs. Read the full plan: aria.org.uk/media/nwffke...

"The data is there – it just can’t be used.” Explore the journey of how Clouds Decoded became Earth Compress – a £7 million project tackling a bottleneck that could unlock an entire class of currently infeasible environmental science. Read the full piece. https://bit.ly/44KNP0L

Doubling down on Earth-scale data

Explore the journey of how Clouds Decoded, a Scoping Our Planet opportunity seed, became Earth Compress – a £7million project tackling a bottleneck that could unlock an entire class of currently infeasible environmental science.

aria.org.uk

We’re delighted to welcome Dan Cole as ARIA’s first Chief Translation Officer. Dan will work across our programmes to shape the pathways, funding models and partnerships needed to turn breakthrough science into life-changing technologies and new industries.

☁️ Your June update: clouds, Star Trek, and live seed funding. Read the full piece now + subscribe: bit.ly/4aGCLW7

Clouds, clouds, everywhere...

Your June update

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Meet the 11 teams we’re funding in Sustained Viral Resilience 💥 Backed by £57m, they’ll unlock a new class of medicines that provide durable, broad-spectrum protection against respiratory viruses by engineering the innate immune system. Read more: link.aria.org.uk/svr-creators-bs

What if crops could grow in the dark, with little or no reliance on photosynthesis? Ivan Jayapurna is exploring whether this question could form the basis of a future programme to unlock a new generation of vertical farming. Read our current thinking and share your thoughts: https://bit.ly/4b6zVJU

Can we grow crops without photosynthesis to make vertical farming stack up?

The Manufacturing Abundance team at ARIA has been incubating an early idea we are referring to as lights-out agriculture: crops that are grown with no reliance on photosynthesis, and whether that coul...

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We’re hiring a Technical & Translational Lead for our Safeguarded AI programme. Help drive a £20m funding call using AI-enabled formal methods to build and red-team cyber defences for critical systems. Apply by 28 June: https://bit.ly/4xOM7ZK

North-East innovators: let’s talk breakthrough funding. Join us in Newcastle for ARIA x North-East: A conversation about ambitious R&D, overlooked opportunities, future Programme Directors, and how bold ideas can connect with breakthrough funding. Register: https://bit.ly/3QA9QvK

ARIA x North-East: Opening New Routes to Breakthrough Funding · Luma

The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is a UK R&D funding agency built to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that could benefit…

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Introducing Mast-EER: a new Masters by Research at @exeter.ac.uk funded through our Engineering Ecosystem Resilience opportunity space to develop interdisciplinary ecosystem researchers of the future. Apply by 31 July for a September start: https://ecologyconservation.exeter.ac.uk/masteer-cohort/

Mast-EER Cohort | Ecology and Conservation | University of Exeter

ecologyconservation.exeter.ac.uk

We’re hiring a Science & Technology Lead to work with Claire Donoghue on ARIA’s Hypersensory Intelligence: Digital Olfaction programme — building an artificial “sense of smell” that matches or exceeds biology. Apply by 28 June 2026: https://bit.ly/4xAN1bW

Could thicker winter sea ice slow summer melt? As covered by The Guardian, we’re funding the Re-Thickening Arctic Sea Ice project to test whether accelerating natural freezing could help preserve Arctic sea ice longer — and whether it could be feasible, scalable and safe. https://bit.ly/4uF8kGC

‘At first, the idea does sound crazy’: meet the scientists trying to refreeze the Arctic

Sea ice is melting fast, worsening the climate crisis, but a bold attempt to rethicken it is showing early signs of success

theguardian.com

How can advances in robot locomotion help solve real operational problems? We're sharing a programme thesis and inviting people to register their interest in our Robot Locomotion Discovery Workshop in York (30 June–1 July 2026). Thesis: https://bit.ly/4v6GNPB Workshop: https://bit.ly/49RUFEP

Programme development | Smarter Robot Bodies

See how we're shaping the direction of a potential new programme on robot locomotion.

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Meet our Engineering Ecosystem Resilience seed Creators 🌱 Backed by up to £500k, these projects span advanced ecosystem sensing, nature-based interventions, autonomous robots and molecular tools for conservation. Discover the teams: link.aria.org.uk/EER-seed-creators-BS

Opportunity seeds

Learn more about opportunity seeds projects we're funding in the Engineering Ecosystem Resilience opportunity space.

link.aria.org.uk

🌍From the Lab to the World On her 100th day as ARIA CEO, Kathleen reflects on what it takes to turn breakthrough science into real-world impact. Plus: neurotechnology, smarter robot bodies, funding opportunities, and frontier reads. Read more and subscribe: https://bit.ly/4fOb1lx

May update: From the lab to the world

News and opportunities

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Seeking teams to test whether AI-enabled formal methods can make high-assurance cyber defense practical, at scale, through building production-grade software components backed by machine-checked proofs and validated through coordinated red-team exercises. https://bit.ly/49Wif30

Funding | Safeguarded AI

Learn more about funding in ARIA's Safeguarded AI programme.

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We’re hiring a Science + Technology Lead in our Smarter Robot Bodies opportunity space to help shape a new programme exploring more efficient robot locomotion. We’re looking for a roboticist with expertise in robot locomotion. Apply before this Sunday (May 17). https://bit.ly/4dbssuL

Announcing our first cohort of Innovator Circles: high-trust peer groups to shape ideas at the frontier of science and tech. https://bit.ly/4eE24Lf

Breaking bread over breaking science

Announcing our first cohort of Innovator Circles: high-trust peer groups to shape ideas at the frontier of science and tech

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Breakthroughs don’t create impact on their own — systems do. That’s the role of our Activation Partners: unlocking ideas, empowering talent, and building pathways that move research into the real world. If you’re working on new models of science, entrepreneurship or AI: https://bit.ly/4c4ngXT

Become an Activation Partner

We've launched a £100m call to recruit up to 8-10 new Activation Partners to design and run bespoke activities across our opportunity spaces.

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⏰ No time for stasis: using time as a design principle In our April update: - Funding, opportunities, and more - Why our Programme Directors are term-limited - New UK FROs: Echo Labs + Meridial - Moving research into real-world trials Read more: https://bit.ly/4tI3w3H

No time for stasis: using time as a design principle

Our April update

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🚀 ARIA is looking for a partner to help deliver our R&D programmes and improve how we operate. Acting as an embedded extension of ARIA, you’ll support decision-making and delivery across the portfolio. 📅 Webinar 26 May: https://bit.ly/49k8Odt ⏰ Proposals due: 16 June: https://bit.ly/4d9oDWI

Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom ...

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🚨 Final call: We’re looking for a communications & engagement partner to work alongside our team, bringing strong strategic and creative capabilities. Help us enhance ARIA’s visibility, strengthen our narrative, and amplify the impact of our programmes. ⏰ Deadline 1 May: https://bit.ly/4d9oDWI

Supply to us

From core operational services to specialised programme support, we work with providers who can help us run efficiently and effectively.

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🚀 We’re hiring Science & Technology Leads at ARIA Help shape bold, high-risk R&D at the frontier of science and tech. Opportunities: • Mathematics for Safe AI • Nature Computes Better • Trust Everything, Everywhere • Smarter Robot Bodies 👉 https://aria.pinpointhq.com/

Careers at ARIA

Learn more about working at ARIA and discover our latest career opportunities

aria.pinpointhq.com